The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday leveraged on its dominance in both chambers of the National Assembly to pass the revised version of the Clause 60 (3) of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill which deals with mandatory real-time electronic transmission of election results from polling units to IRev portal.
The clause 60(3) passed by both chambers states: “The Presiding Officer shall electronically transmit the results from each polling unit to IREV portal and such transmission shall be done after the prescribed Form EC8A has been signed and stamped by the Presiding officer and/or countersigned by the candidates or Polling agents where available at the Polling Unit.
Provided that if the electronic transmission of the result fails as a result of communication failure and it becomes impossible to transmit the result contained in form EC8A signed and stamped by the Presiding Officer and countersigned by the candidates or polling agents where available at the polling unit, the form EC8A shall remain the primary source of collation and declaration of the result.”
The membership of the APC in both the Senate and the House of Representatives has crossed two-third majority following defections from the opposition parties; a development that has made it an easy ride to get major amendments and bills passed.
Through court rulings that nullified Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) victories in Plateau and defections, the APC has now crossed a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives with no fewer than 241 seats out of 360.
At the inauguration of the House on June 13, 2023, the APC held only 175 seats, short of the 181-seat simple majority required to elect the speaker.
By contrast, opposition parties collectively controlled 182 seats. The PDP held 116 seats, the Labour Party (LP) 35 and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) 19. The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) held five seats; while the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the Social Democratic Party (SDP), and Young Progressives Party (YPP) held two seats each. Three federal constituency seats were outstanding as a result of a court order.
In the Senate, the configuration of senators across party now shows that the APC has 80, the PDP 21, the Labour Party (LP) three, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) two, the New Nigeria Peoples Party NNPP) one, totalling 107 out of the 109 seats.
Seats of Enugu North and Nasarawa North Senatorial Districts are vacant due to the demise of Senators Okechukwu Ezea and Godiya Akwashiki.
At its inauguration in June 2023, the 10th Senate was evenly balanced, with no party in clear dominance. The APC held 59 of the 109 seats; the PDP had 36, and the LP had 8; while the SDP, the NNPP and the APGA shared the remaining seats.
The overwhelming dominance of the ruling party in both chambers of the National Assembly was a major factor that saw the passage of the electoral amendment bill which now allows both electronic and manual transmission in an event of network or communication failure.
While the House backtracked on its earlier decision approving mandatory electronic transmission of results to align with the Senate version which gave a caveat, the Red Chamber on its part, got the contentious clause passed after 55 senators voted in support as against the 15 senators, mostly of the minority, who voted against.
Senate retains proviso for manual transmission of results
The Senate yesterday re-passed the Electoral Act amendment Bill, retaining the proviso on Clause 60(3) that allows for manual transmission of election results if electronic transmission fails.
The proviso indicates that presiding officers can transmit results electronically, but if the system fails, they can use Form EC8A as a backup.
This followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele (APC-Ekiti) at plenary on Tuesday.
This motion was seconded by Chairman, Senate Committee on INEC and Electoral Matters, Sen. Simon Lalong (Plateau South).
The bill was passed after a clause-by-clause consideration.
Bamidele, in the motion entitled: “Motion for Rescission and Re-Commital,” said the Electoral Act, 2022 (Repeal and Enactment) Bill, 2026 was duly considered and passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives.
He said upon further critical review of the bill as passed, it was observed that the 360-day notice requirement prescribed in Clause 28 might result in the scheduling of the 2027 presidential and national assembly elections within the period of Ramadan.
He said that the coincidence of the elections with the Ramadan period could adversely affect voters’ turnout.
According to him, it can also affect logistical coordination, stakeholder engagement and the overall inclusiveness and credibility of the electoral process.
He said upon painstaking scrutiny of the bill, discrepancies were identified in the Long Title and Clauses 6, 9, 10, 22, 23, 28, 29, 32, 42, 47, 51, 60, 62, 64, 65, 73, 77, 86, 87, 89, 93 and 143.
This, he said, affected other clauses of the bill, including issues relating to cross-referencing, serial numbering and internal consistency.
Bamidele said that a technical committee comprising the leadership of both chambers, members of the conference committee, clerks of both chambers and legal drafting experts from Directorate of Legal Services of the National Assembly met to harmonise and address the identified anomalies.
He said there was the need to ensure that electoral timelines and statutory provisions promote maximum participation, fairness, inclusivity, administrative efficiency and public confidence in the electoral system.
The senate leader said the upper chamber resolved to rescind its decision on the bill out of its desire to correct the identified inconsistencies and unintended consequences through appropriate legislative action.
He said the decision was also aimed at safeguarding the integrity of the electoral framework and relying on the provisions of Orders 1(b) and 53(6) of the Senate Standing Orders (as amended).
“The senate accordingly resolves to: rescind its decision on the electoral act, 2022 repeal and enactment bill, 2026 as previously passed; and re-commit the bill to the Committee of the Whole for comprehensive reconsideration and necessary amendments,” he said.
The Senate accordingly went into committee of the whole for the comprehensive amendment.
In spite of the rescission of amendment and re- enactment of bill, the earlier approved clause 60(3) was still retained alongside its proviso.
The clause earlier passed by the senate had mandated electronic transmission of election results from polling units to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Result Viewing Portal (IReV), but with conditions.
According to the clause, results shall be transmitted electronically after the prescribed Form EC8A has been signed and stamped by the presiding officer and party agents.
However, if electronic transmission fails due to communication issues, the result contained in Form EC8A signed by the presiding officer and or countersigned by polling agents shall be the primary source of collation and declaration of results.
55 senators defeat 15 colleagues
Before the passage at the Senate, Senator Enyinaya Abaribe (APGA-Abia), during the clause-by-clause consideration of the bill, had raised a point of order in response to clause 60(3), calling for division to vote on the clause.
However, Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin (APC-Kano), said it would be out of order to raise a point of order on a matter that had been concluded, saying that the Senate had concluded on the clause in the previous passage of the bill.
Barau was, however, shouted down by some opposition lawmakers.
Bamidele handled the controversy which was already degenerating into a shouting brawl, when he interjected, saying: “Abaribe’s point of order calling for a division was in order.”
The majority leader said that his motion on rescission of the passed bill was in the overriding public interest and to preserve the integrity of the senate.
He said that the call for division by Abaribe was in order and consistent with his motion, which was for new legislative input on the earlier passed electoral bill by the senate.
The Senate, thereafter, went into division to decide on the proviso on clause 60(3), which eventually received the support of the majority of the lawmakers who are of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The lawmakers who voted in support of the proviso were 55, while those who were not in support were 15. Thirty nine members were absent.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, in his remarks, said, “This is a major innovation since 1960. With this, senate’s stance should be applauded. I thank you for your innovation that we should undertake this.
“This will enable all the political parties to protect the results of their candidates”.
Reps backtracks on e-transmission, adopt Senate version
The House of Representatives yesterday backtracked on its earlier decision on Clause 60 (3) of the Electoral Act (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill 2026, adopting the version passed by the Senate which allowed both electronic and manual transmission of election results.
The approval came amidst a rowdy session and protest from opposition lawmakers who staged a walk out from the chambers to express their disenchantment, chanting “APC, ole”! APC, ole!
The House had earlier in December 2025 approved Clause 60(3) which stipulates that: “The Presiding Officer shall electronically transmit the results from each polling unit to IREV portal and such transmission shall be done after the prescribed Form EC8A has been signed and stamped by the Presiding officer and/or countersigned by the candidates or Polling agents where available at the Polling Unit.”
However, during the emergency sitting yesterday, the House rescinded its earlier decision and recommitted the bill to the committee of the whole presided by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Okezie Kalu, during which the lawmakers approved the version passed by the Senate which gave a caveat that where there is a network or communication failure, the form EC8A shall remain the primary source of collation and declaration of the result.
The new version now approved by the House after its rescission states that: “The Presiding Officer shall electronically transmit the results from each polling unit to IREV portal and such transmission shall be done after the prescribed Form EC8A has been signed and stamped by the Presiding officer and/or countersigned by the candidates or Polling agents where available at the Polling Unit.”
Provided that if the electronic transmission of the result fails as a result of communication failure and it becomes impossible to transmit the result contained in form EC8A signed and stamped by the Presiding Officer and countersigned by the candidates or polling agents where available at the polling unit, the form EC8A shall remain the primary source of collation and declaration of the result.”
Indirect primaries scrapped
Besides the provision on electronic transmission of election results, other key amendments adopted deal with the removal of indirect primary in the selection of candidates as well as the adjustment of the timeline for the publication of election notice from 360 days to 300 days.
The lawmakers approved Clause 84 which abolished indirect primaries, limiting political parties to either direct primaries or consensus in the nomination of candidates for elective offices.
The approval was given during clause-by-clause consideration of the bill, where lawmakers adopted sections dealing with the nomination of candidates, qualifications of aspirants and procedures for party primaries.
Under the adopted provisions, any political party seeking to nominate candidates for elections is required to conduct primaries for all elective positions, with such exercises to be monitored by the INEC.
Specifically, the bill provides that the procedure for nominating candidates shall be by direct primaries or consensus, effectively excluding indirect primaries from the options available to political parties.
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