President Bola Tinubu is expected to sign the amended Electoral Act into law this month, according to Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

Akpabio said this on Tuesday during an emergency plenary session where the lawmakers constituted a committee to harmonise its version of the bill with the one passed by the House of Representatives amid the backlash triggered by some amendments to the Act.

“I believe that if you are able to conclude within this —in the next few days or one week— the President should be able to sign this amended Electoral Bill into an Act of Parliament within this month of February,” the Senate president told the lawmakers. “So I wish you a worthy deliberation with your colleagues.”

‘Matter of Urgency’

The 12-member committee will work with the House of Representatives to harmonise the versions of the bills passed by both bodies, he told the Senate.

Akpabio asked the committee to take the work as a “matter of urgency”.

“The conference committee, when you meet, you should recognize that this is a matter of urgency,” the senator said.

He said the expansion of the committee followed “consultation with the leadership” and in a bid to be “together with our colleagues in the House of Representatives.”

Backlash, Backtrack

Tuesday’s session followed a backlash over the passage of the Electoral Act.

Last week, the Senate rejected proposals for the real-time electronic transmission of election results as contained in Clause 60 (3). But it retained the portion in the 2022 Act that equips the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to decide the mode of transmission.

Opposition leaders criticised the move, claiming it would undermine Nigeria’s democracy. They also protested at the National Assembly.

But on Tuesday, the Senate reversed itself and approved the electronic transmission (without the real-time phrase). It stipulated that where internet connectivity fails, the Form EC8A will remain the primary instrument for result collation. (Channels)