NASS Moves to Reconcile Electoral Bill Monday

Members of the National Assembly Conference Committee are set to meet on Monday, February 16, 2026, in Abuja to resolve differences in the Electoral Amendment Bill passed separately by the Senate and the House of Representatives, as lawmakers work to send a unified version to President Bola Tinubu for assent before the end of the month.

The meeting will bring together lawmakers from both chambers who were appointed to harmonise the disputed areas of the bill, mainly the provisions dealing with electronic transmission of election results.

The committee was given one week to settle the areas of disagreement after the two chambers passed different versions of the amendment. The major issue is how election results should be transmitted from polling units, especially the role of technology in the process.

Under legislative rules, when the Senate and the House pass different versions of the same bill, a joint panel is formed to produce a single document that both sides must approve before it is sent to the President.

The fresh amendment follows concerns raised after the 2023 general election, particularly over the failure of the Independent National Electoral Commission to upload presidential election results to its Result Viewing Portal in real time.

Since then, civil society groups, opposition parties and some lawmakers have called for clearer legal backing for electronic transmission to avoid confusion and improve trust in the electoral system ahead of the 2027 polls.

Sources within the National Assembly confirmed that the harmonisation process would begin on Monday. Some lawmakers, though not members of the committee, said they were waiting to see the final decision on the disputed clauses.

Senator Seriake Dickson, who represents Bayelsa West, said he was aware that Monday was being considered for the meeting, although he is not part of the panel.

Attempts to get comments from Senate spokesperson Yemi Adaramodu and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Niyi Adegbonmire, did not succeed as calls and messages were not answered.

Earlier in the week, Dickson had urged the committee to adopt the House version of the bill in full. He warned that any change that weakens the provision on electronic transmission could affect public trust in elections.

His position came shortly after the Senate reviewed its earlier stance and restored electronic transmission of results to INEC’s Result Viewing Portal, known as IReV, while allowing manual collation where technology fails.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio had indicated that the harmonised bill would be transmitted to President Tinubu before the end of February, raising hopes that the amendment would be completed well before preparations for the 2027 general election begin in earnest.

According to another source familiar with the process, Senator Simon Lalong had informed some colleagues that Monday, February 16, was fixed for the reconciliation meeting.

Lawmakers involved in the committee may have been excused from other legislative duties, including budget defence sessions, to focus on the bill because of its importance.

House spokesperson Akin Rotimi confirmed that members from both chambers had started consultations, though he did not give details.

Two committee members, Sada Soli and Iduma Igariwey, also said the meeting was likely to hold on Monday, although final confirmation was still pending.The House version of the amendment provides that election results should be electronically transmitted from each polling unit to the IReV portal in real time, alongside physical collation.

The Senate version also allows electronic transmission but states that the result must first be recorded on Form EC8A, signed and stamped by the presiding officer, and countersigned by candidates or their agents before it is transmitted.

It further states that where electronic transmission fails due to network or technical problems, the signed paper result will serve as the main document for collation and declaration.

Beyond electronic transmission, the House amended Section 31 of the Electoral Act to require that any candidate seeking to withdraw from an election must submit a written notice along with a sworn affidavit to the political party that nominated him or her, which must then notify INEC not later than 90 days before the election.

The House also reduced the time for election tribunals to deliver judgment in Area Council election petitions from 180 days to 150 days.

Meanwhile, Senator Adeniyi Adegbonmire clarified during a television interview that electronic transmission of results does not mean electronic voting. He explained that INEC still conducts voting and counting manually at polling units, and that IReV only serves as a platform to display results that have already been counted and recorded.

According to him, changing the wording from transmit to upload would not alter how the system works, since the results must first be entered manually before being sent to the portal.

A former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Olisa Agbakoba, also called on the National Assembly to make real-time electronic transmission compulsory in the Electoral Act. He argued that clear legal backing would improve transparency and prevent future disputes.

He referred to the 2023 general election and the Supreme Court ruling which stated that electronic transmission was not expressly provided for in the 2022 Act and therefore not legally binding.

Agbakoba said the absence of firm statutory backing has created legal uncertainty and placed a heavy burden on petitioners seeking to challenge election results in court. He maintained that unless the law clearly provides for electronic transmission, disputes over election results may continue.

The outcome of Monday’s meeting is expected to determine the final shape of the amended Electoral Act and clarify the National Assembly’s position on the use of technology in Nigeria’s elections ahead of 2027.