Tinubu Signs Amended Electoral Act 2026 Into law

…Electoral Act: We’ve Met Aspiration Of Nigerians, Not Few People Who Make Noise — Akpabio

 

President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday signed the Electoral Act 2026 (Amendment) into law, just days after the Independent National Electoral Commission released the timetable for the 2027 general elections.

The signing took place at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, around 5:00 pm on Wednesday, with principal officers of the National Assembly in attendance.

The National Assembly had passed the bill on Tuesday.

The amendment reignites debates over the electronic transmission of election results.

Civil society groups and some opposition figures have long pushed for real-time transmission of results from polling units to INEC’s central server, arguing it would curb manipulation and strengthen credibility.

Protesters had last week disrupted the National Assembly complex to demand live transmission, citing failures during the 2023 elections when INEC’s Results Viewing Portal collapsed, triggering widespread allegations of rigging.

While the ruling All Progressives Congress supports technology adoption, some stakeholders argue that areas with poor telecommunications infrastructure require a phased or hybrid approach, allowing manual collation where electronic systems fail.

The 2027 general elections are scheduled to hold on February 20 for Presidential and National Assembly elections and March 6 for Governorship & State Houses of Assembly Elections.

Meanwhile the  Senate President Senate President Godswill Akpabio has expressed strong satisfaction with the newly signed Electoral Act, describing it as a historic and painstaking piece of legislation that reflects the genuine aspirations of Nigerians.

Speaking at the State House after President Tinubu signed the bill into law, the Senate President said lawmakers were patriotic and thorough in their approach.

He noted that they took into account the peculiarities of the Nigerian environment while resisting undue external interference.

He said the National Assembly was happy and satisfied that it had been able to interpret the intentions and yearnings of the majority of Nigerians, “not those who are politically motivated, not a few people who make noise. Noise is different from lawmaking.”

Akpabio declared that the new law would usher in greater transparency, prosperity, and fairness in future elections, stressing that every vote cast by Nigerians would now truly count

According to him, one of the most celebrated provisions of the amended Act is the formal recognition of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System result viewer, popularly known as the IReV, as a legitimate and verifiable record of polling unit results.

He explained that election results transmitted electronically, even in areas with poor network coverage, would eventually reflect on the IReV portal once connectivity is restored. This, he said, would make it possible for Nigerians to detect any tampering or alteration of results as they move from polling units to collation centres.

The Senate President described this as a landmark development, noting that for the first time since Nigeria’s independence in 1960, electronic transmission of results has been formally recognised in law.

Akpabio also highlighted other key reforms embedded in the new Act, including provisions that empower political party members to vote directly for candidates of their choice during primaries, rather than leaving such decisions to a handful of delegates.

He added that the law now requires a fresh election to be conducted where a leading candidate is disqualified by a court, preventing a scenario in which a candidate with a significantly lower number of votes is declared winner by default.

The bill has generated heated debate over the past week, with lawmakers and prominent Nigerians disagreeing over the method of transmitting election results ahead of the 2027 general elections.

On Tuesday, the Senate passed the Electoral Act, 2022 (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill, 2026, following a rowdy session in the upper chamber.

Proceedings were disrupted after Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (ADC/Abia South) demanded a division over Clause 60 as the Senate resumed consideration of the bill.