Legislature
Senate Reduces Election Notice Period to 300 Days Ahead of 2027 Polls
The Nigerian Senate has amended Clause 28 of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, cutting the statutory notice period for elections from 360 days to 300 days to give the Independent National Electoral Commission greater flexibility in scheduling the 2027 general elections.
The revised clause mandates INEC to publish election notices not later than 300 days before polling, specifying dates and locations for submission of nomination papers across all states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The amendment followed a motion for rescission and recommittal moved by Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, who warned that retaining the earlier 360-day requirement could push the 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections into the Ramadan period, potentially affecting voter turnout, logistics, and stakeholder participation.
Bamidele also cited inconsistencies in the bill’s long title and multiple clauses, including issues with cross-referencing and numbering, prompting the Senate to revisit the draft legislation.
Proceedings became tense when Enyinnaya Abaribe demanded a division on Clause 60(3), which permits manual transmission of election results where electronic transmission fails.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio initially ruled that the request had been withdrawn, but opposition lawmakers objected.
Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin cited Senate rules to oppose reopening debate, triggering further protests before lawmakers briefly entered a closed-door session.
When voting resumed, 55 senators supported retaining the manual transmission provision, while 15 opposed it. The chamber subsequently passed the Electoral Act, 2022 (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill 2026.
INEC had earlier scheduled the presidential and National Assembly elections for February 20, 2027, and governorship and state assembly polls for March 6, 2027.
The dates drew criticism from stakeholders, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who urged reconsideration because of their overlap with Ramadan.
Responding, INEC National Commissioner Mohammed Haruna said the commission had noted the concerns and was consulting stakeholders, adding that it could seek legislative action if adjustments become necessary while remaining within constitutional and legal limits.
Tension gripped proceedings on Tuesday as a crucial conference meeting between the Senate and the House of Representatives on the Electoral Act (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2026 was postponed to late night after members of the House delegation failed to formally convene ahead of plenary.
The delay followed a motion for rescission on the document, which sparked uproar during an emergency sitting and forced lawmakers into a closed-door session.
The development comes amid growing pressure on the Independent National Electoral Commission to ensure seamless, transparent, and legally unassailable electronic transmission of results, with 368 days remaining before the February 20, 2027 general elections.
At the emergency plenary, deliberations began under tense conditions, while demonstrators gathered outside the National Assembly complex demanding real-time electronic transmission of votes.
Inside the chamber, Francis Waive moved a motion seeking rescission of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill to enable the House reconsider the legislation. The motion was seconded by Bayo Balogun, Chairman of the Committee on Electoral Matters.
Although lawmakers audibly voted “Nay,” the Speaker ruled in favour of the “Ayes,” a decision that triggered loud protests on the floor.
Following the disruption, the House proceeded into an executive session to deliberate further.
This is a developing story.
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan on Monday expressed anger after a budget defence session involving the North-Central Development Commission ended before she arrived, saying she was effectively excluded because of the meeting’s timing.
The session, held at the National Assembly of Nigeria, had been scheduled for 10:00 a.m. but concluded shortly after 11:00 a.m. The Kogi Central lawmaker reportedly arrived around noon and confronted the office of the committee chairman, insisting she had been left out of the exercise.
Sources said her protest was not about the ₦140 billion 2026 budget itself but about what she viewed as her exclusion from the session where the commission defended its estimates before lawmakers.
Earlier, Chairman of the Senate Committee on NCDC, Titus Zam, told journalists the panel reviewed all proposed expenditures and found them relevant to the development needs of the North-Central region. He added that the commission had been advised to prioritise agriculture and security when implementing the budget.
Comes Days After Committee Walkout
Monday’s incident follows a similar confrontation last week when Akpoti-Uduaghan walked out of a Senate committee session during deliberations with the Senate Committee on Steel Development.
At that meeting, she clashed with committee chairman Patrick Ndubueze after he moved to end questioning of the Minister of Steel Development, Shuaibu Audu, despite her request to continue speaking. She argued that she still had important issues to raise and accused the committee leadership of shutting her out before leaving the session.
The back-to-back incidents have drawn attention to procedural tensions within Senate committees, particularly over scheduling, speaking opportunities and member participation in oversight proceedings.
General News
Senate Raises Concern Over Funding Releases as Minister Seeks Increase in N134.2bn 2026 Budget
The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Sulaiman‑Ibrahim, has called for an upward review of the N134.2 billion proposed for the ministry in the 2026 fiscal year, stressing that increased funding is necessary to tackle the complex challenges facing women nationwide.
She made the appeal on Monday while defending the ministry’s budget proposal before the Senate Committee on Women Affairs.
According to the minister, enhanced domestic allocations in 2026 would enable the ministry to implement programmes designed to address multifaceted social and economic issues affecting women across the country.
“In line with the plan and need for more domestic allocations in the 2026 fiscal year, upward review of budget estimates for the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development should be done,” she said.
However, responding to the request, the committee chairperson, Ireti Kingibe, said lawmakers were not opposed to increasing the ministry’s allocation but insisted that the persistent problem of poor fund releases must first be resolved by the executive.
She described the pattern of releases reflected in the ministry’s 2025 budget performance as “abysmal,” warning that approving higher allocations would be meaningless if actual disbursements remain inadequate.
Earlier in her presentation, Sulaiman-Ibrahim disclosed that of the N89.8 billion appropriated for capital expenditure in 2025, only N394 million was released in December, funds she said were not utilized. She added that overhead funding also suffered similar constraints, noting that just N471 million was released out of the N2.8 billion approved for that component.
For 2026, the ministry’s proposed N134.2 billion budget breakdown includes N2.1 billion for personnel costs, N131.2 billion for capital projects, and N810.9 million for overhead expenses.