Protesters on Monday gathered at the main entrance of the National Assembly in Abuja for the “Occupy National Assembly” protest.
The demonstration is driven by the Senate’s stance on the electronic transmission of election results.
Security was visibly tightened around the area, with operatives deployed from the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Army, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
Despite multiple explanations by the Senate following reports that it rejected electronic transmission of results, protesters maintain that lawmakers must clearly spell out the inclusion of the phrase “real-time electronic transmission” in the proposed law.
Participants at the protest include members of civil society organisations, some opposition members of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and women’s groups, all stationed at the National Assembly entrance.
The police had earlier barricaded access points leading into the complex.
Speaking to Channels Television, some civil society representatives said the protesters have no intention of entering the National Assembly premises, noting that the protest is focused solely at the entrance.
The protesters commenced their march from the Federal Secretariat, proceeding towards the National Assembly gate.
Public outrage intensified after the Senate last week passed the Electoral Act 2022 (Repeal and Reenactment) Amendment Bill 2026 through a third reading.
However, while passing the bill, the Senate declined to approve the proposed amendment to Clause 60, Subsection 3, which sought to make electronic transmission of election results compulsory.
The rejected clause would have mandated presiding officers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to transmit results electronically from polling units to the IREV portal in real time, after completing and endorsing the required forms.
Instead, the Senate retained the existing provision of the Electoral Act, which states that “the presiding officer shall transfer the results, including the total number of accredited voters and the results of the ballot, in a manner as prescribed by the Commission.”
Amid public reactions, Senate President Godswill Akpabio clarified that the Senate did not reject electronic transmission of results but maintained the provision already contained in the 2022 Electoral Act.
Addressing the issue at a book launch, Akpabio explained that while electronic transmission remains allowed, the term “real time” was deliberately removed.
“All we said during discussion was that we should remove the word ‘real-time’ because if you say real-time, then there is a network or grid failure and the network is not working. When you go to court, somebody will say it ought to have been real-time. That was all we said,” he stated.
He stressed that the decision was meant to allow INEC the flexibility to choose the most suitable method of result transmission, considering technological and security realities.
Reacting, former Senate President David Mark said the National Assembly should not preempt INEC’s decision on whether to transmit election results electronically.
He added that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) supports electronic transmission of election results.
Meanwhile, the Senate has announced an emergency plenary session scheduled for Tuesday, February 10, 2026.
In a notice issued by the Clerk of the Senate, Emmanuel Odo, senators were instructed to reconvene at the National Assembly complex on the directive of Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Although no official reason was provided, the meeting comes amid sustained debate over electronic transmission of election results following the bill’s third reading.