The Senate has scheduled an emergency plenary session for Tuesday amid mounting controversy over the recently passed Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
The decision is contained in a memo circulated to all senators and signed by the Clerk of the Senate, Emmanuel Odo.
According to the memo, Odo said he was acting on the directive of the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, to inform all Distinguished Senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that an emergency sitting has been fixed for Tuesday, February 10, 2026, at 12:00 noon.
The emergency session comes barely a week after the Senate passed the Electoral Act Amendment Bill and subsequently suspended plenary until February 24, 2026.
The earlier adjournment was to allow standing committees commence the 2026 budget defence, with Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) expected to appear before lawmakers to defend their budget estimates.
While the official agenda for the emergency plenary has not been disclosed, the development is widely believed to be connected to the backlash following the Senate’s rejection of a proposal to make real-time electronic transmission of election results mandatory.
Adding to the controversy, some senators from opposition parties have also raised concerns, insisting that what was eventually passed on the floor of the Senate did not reflect the consensus reached during several prolonged closed-door sessions held before the matter was brought for plenary consideration.
Civil society organisations and several prominent Nigerians have since criticised the decision and threatened to stage protests at the National Assembly beginning Monday.
The groups insist that the Senate must adopt real-time electronic transmission of results from polling units to strengthen transparency and credibility in the electoral process.
Both the Office of the Clerk of the Senate and the Chief of Staff to the President of the Senate have confirmed that the emergency plenary will hold in the Senate Chamber.
(Editor: Nkoli Omhoudu)
