…15 senators oppose Clause 60 as 55 back manual transmission

…House erupts over alleged behind-the-scenes alterations, retreats into closed session

By Olakunle Oke and Azeez Sulaiman

Political tempers flared at the National Assembly on Tuesday as both chambers advanced the Electoral Act, 2022 (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill, 2026, following proceedings marked by shouting matches, procedural wrangling and accusations of behind-the-scenes alterations.

At the heart of the storm lay one of the most contentious elements of Nigeria’s electoral framework: the transmission and collation of election results.

The Senate ultimately approved the bill through a headcount vote, while the House of Representatives was forced into an executive session after a near-physical confrontation erupted over a motion seeking to rescind the legislation for what were described as technical corrections.

Debate in the Senate took a confrontational turn during consideration of Clause 60. Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe of Abia South, speaking for the Minority Caucus under the ADC, demanded a formal division on the clause, igniting an intense exchange across party lines.

Abaribe strongly objected to the provision permitting manual transmission of election results where electronic systems fail. He maintained that Form EC8A should not serve as the sole basis for collation and pressed for the deletion of any proviso allowing manual intervention, warning that such latitude could open the door to manipulation.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio initially declined the request for a division, asserting that it had earlier been withdrawn, a claim that drew loud protests from opposition senators. Matters escalated further when Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin invoked Order 52(6), contending that it was procedurally improper to revisit a ruling already delivered by the Senate President.

The intervention intensified the dispute, culminating in a sharp verbal confrontation between Senator Abaribe and Senator
Sunday Karimi.

Calm returned only after Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele stepped in, pointing out that his own motion for rescission rendered previous decisions non-binding and therefore legitimised Abaribe’s demand for a vote. Akpabio subsequently ordered a headcount. Fifteen opposition senators rose in opposition to the manual transmission clause, staging a final show of resistance, but they were outnumbered by 55 colleagues who voted to retain the provision.