Senate Fixes Emergency Plenary Amid Debates About E-Transmission Of Results

The Senate will hold an emergency plenary session on Tuesday, February 10, 2026.

In a notice sent by the Clerk of the Senate, Emmanuel Odo, the lawmakers were directed to convene at the National Assembly complex on the instruction of Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

“I am directed by His Excellency, the President of the Senate, Distinguished Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio, GCON, to inform all Distinguished Senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that an Emergency Sitting of the Senate has been scheduled to hold as follows: Date: Tuesday, 10th February, 2026. Time:12:00 Noon. Venue: Senate Chamber,” the notice read.

Odo urged all senators to attend the emergency sitting.

“All inconveniences this will cause to Distinguished Senators are highly regretted, please,” the memo read.

No reason was stated for the meeting, but the development comes amid debates about the e-transmission of election results after the Electoral Act amendment bill passed the third reading at the Senate. The lawmakers had adjourned plenary after then.

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Clause 60 (30) of the Electoral Amendment Bill is connected with the electronic transmission of results. On Wednesday, the Senate retained the provision for the electronic transfer of results as contained in the 2022 Electoral Act.

The Red Chamber rejected moves for the real-time transmission of results and a 10-year ban on vote-buyers. It instead retained the sanctions of jail terms and fines.

Since the development, the Senate has come under fire. However, some of its members have clarified that the bill enjoyed the support of a majority of the senators.

“Over 85 per cent of senators agreed to electronic transmission. It was common ground. Even the ad hoc committee of the Senate agreed to it,” the Senator representing Anambra Central, Victor Umeh, told Channels Television.

According to Umeh, the only modification agreed to during the executive session was the removal of the phrase “in real time”. He attributed this to concerns about possible network challenges in some areas.

The Anambra lawmaker said confusion arose during plenary when a motion was reportedly moved to replace the word “transmission” with “transfer” without debate.

“It was only ‘real time’ that was expunged because of network issues. Transmission itself was never in dispute.

“There was no debate on (transmission) it. If debate had been allowed, it would have taken us back to the executive session where the issue had already been exhaustively discussed and resolved,” Senator Umeh said.