Anxiety over conference committee on Electoral Act Amendment Bill
There was anxiety last night over the scheduled meeting by members of the Conference Committee on the Electoral Act (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2026. As at press time yesterday, the
There was anxiety last night over the scheduled meeting by members of the Conference Committee on the Electoral Act (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2026.
As at press time yesterday, the lawmakers saddled with the responsibility of smoothening the rough edges, were yet to formally meet on the harmonization of differences in 20 contentious clauses in the proposed legislation already passed by Senate and the House of Representatives.
A source told The Nation that the scheduled session could not hold as planned due to the absence of key members of the House of Representatives team.
The source said: “As at 11am, no member of the House of Representatives was around. But some members of the Senate Conference Committee, like Senator Orji Uzor Kalu and Abba Moro were around. They went into the office of the Chairman of the panel, Senator Simon Lalong, and later rescheduled the meeting for 3pm.
“By 3pm, almost the same senators that came at 11am returned but the House of Representatives members did not show up. But I think at about 4pm the chairman of the House of Representatives Conference Committee came and joined the Senators.
“They met but I don’t know what they discussed there. It was definitely not the conference meeting because other members of the conference committee from the House of Representatives were not there.”
A highly placed committee member was quoted as saying: “How can there be a conclusion when the meeting failed to hold?”
Our reporter observed that some senators arrived at the venue at the scheduled time and waited, but both Chairmen of the Electoral Committees - Senator Simon Bako Lalong for the Senate and Adebayo Balogun for the House - were initially absent, while no House members were present.
After waiting, the senators reportedly moved to Senator Lalong’s office and later agreed to reconvene at 3:00 pm. By 3:30 pm, senators including Isah Jibrin, Abba Moro and Mohammed Tahir Monguno were seated, but once again, no House member turned up.
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“At about 4:00 pm, Senator Lalong arrived and later Hon. Balogun joined him, still without other House committee members.
“The two leaders held a brief discussion before dispersing, effectively ending the day without any harmonised position on the bill”.
Sources hinted that a late-night meeting could be convened outside the National Assembly complex in a last-minute attempt to align positions ahead of Tuesday’s plenary.
The conference committee has a mandate to reconcile differences on 20 clauses, the explanatory memorandum and the long title of the bill, with Clause 60(3) on electronic transmission of election results remaining the most contentious.
The House of Representatives had passed a version mandating real-time electronic transmission of results from polling units to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) IReV portal, while the Senate amended the clause on February 4, 2026, by removing the words “real-time” and adopting a more flexible framework.
The Senate’s position has sparked protests, including the #OccupyNASS demonstration in Abuja, and threats by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) of possible industrial action.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Adeyemi Adaramodu, had defended the Senate’s stance, saying: “We don’t do something that we just wake up, on impulse… You have to be very thorough… It must be so painstakingly done that the flaws… don’t repudiate whatever trust Nigerians have in our system.”
To reconcile the differences, both chambers constituted a 12-member Conference Committee.
The Senate delegation, chaired by Lalong, includes senators Orji Uzor Kalu, Adamu Aliero, Asuquo Ekpenyong, Aminu Iya Abbas, Tokunbo Abiru, Niyi Adegbonmire, Ipalibo Banigo and Onyekachi Nwebonyi, among others.
In the Balogun-led House team, are: Fred Agbedi, Sada Soli, Ahmadu Jaha, Iduma Igariwey Enwo, Saidu Musa Abdullahi and Dr. Zainab Gimba.
The Senate has notified members of its plenary session scheduled for today (Tuesday), February 17, 2026, at 11:00 am, with the Clerk of the Senate, Emmanuel Odo, indicating that “very crucial decisions will be taken on national issues during the session.”
With the harmonisation committee yet to conclude its assignment and public pressure mounting ahead of the 2027 general elections, attention has shifted to today’s plenary, where lawmakers are expected to determine whether the final Electoral Act will mandate real-time electronic transmission of results or adopt the Senate’s flexible alternative.
