The Senate passed the Electoral Act amendment bill on Wednesday after a five-hour clause-by-clause debate.
The bill was the only item on the order paper following a valedictory session for the late Okey Ezea. It was approved by the committee of the whole after considering and adopting its 155 clauses.
Some provisions were amended, while the majority of the clauses remained as originally proposed.
One key amendment reduced the timeline for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to publish a notice of election from 360 days to 180 days.
Additionally, the Senate ruled out real-time transmission of election results and instead retained the provision for the electronic transfer of results, as outlined in the 2002 Electoral Act.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced that a joint committee of the Senate and the House of Representatives would meet to harmonize the Act before sending it to President Bola Tinubu for assent.
Niyi Adegbonmire, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights, and Legal Matters, will lead the harmonization committee from the upper legislative chamber. Other members include Tahir Monguno, Adamu Aliero, Orji Kalu, Abba Moro, Asuquo Ekpeyong, Aminu Abass, Tokunbo Abiru, and Simon Lalong.
Akpabio addressed reports circulating on social media about the Senate supposedly rejecting electronic transmission of election results. He clarified:
“Distinguished colleagues, the social media is already awash with reports that the Senate has literally rejected electronic transmission of results,” he said. “That is not true. What we did was to retain the electronic transmission which has been in the act and was used in 2022.”
He added: “So please, do not allow people to confuse you. If you are in doubt, we will make our final votes and proceedings available to you if you apply.”
Akpabio further emphasized: “This Senate under my watch has not rejected the electronic transmission of results. It is in my interest as a participant in the next election for such to be done. So please don’t go with the crowd.”
He concluded: “We have retained what was in the previous provision by way of amendment. That was all we did. The previous law made allowance for electronic transmission. So, it is still there as part of our law. We cannot afford to be going backwards.”
