By Charles Maduka
The Senate has fixed an emergency plenary sitting for Tuesday as pressure continues to mount on the national assembly over the electronic transmission of election results.
The decision was contained in a notice issued on Sunday by Emmanuel Odo, clerk of the senate, who said the sitting was convened on the directive of Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
According to the notice, the emergency session will hold at noon inside the senate chamber, with all senators requested to be present.
“I am directed by His Excellency, the President of the Senate, Distinguished Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio, to inform all Distinguished Senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that an emergency sitting of the Senate has been scheduled,” the notice stated.
“All distinguished senators are kindly requested to take note of this emergency sitting date and attend.”
The planned sitting comes against the backdrop of sustained calls for lawmakers to revisit clause 60(3) of the electoral amendment bill, which deals with the electronic transmission of election results.
Last week, the senate retained the provision on electronic transfer of results as captured in the Electoral Act 2022, during its consideration of the amendment bill.
During the session, the red chamber also rejected proposals seeking mandatory real-time transmission of results as well as a 10-year ban on vote buyers, choosing instead to uphold existing penalties that include fines or jail terms.
Some senators later explained that the bill enjoyed majority support in the upper chamber, despite objections raised by advocacy groups and sections of the public.
Even with that backing, the senate declined to adopt real-time electronic transmission, retaining the current provision which states that election results should be transmitted “in a manner as prescribed by the commission.”
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