President Bola Tinubu is expected to sign the amended Electoral Act into law this February, Senate President Godswill Akpabio said on Tuesday.

Akpabio spoke during an emergency plenary session, where lawmakers set up a committee to harmonise the Senate’s version of the bill with that passed by the House of Representatives, amid criticism over some of its amendments.

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

The 12-member committee will collaborate with the House of Representatives to reconcile differences between the two versions of the bill. Akpabio urged the committee to treat the task as urgent.

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

He added that the decision to expand the committee came after consultation with the leadership and was aimed at working together with colleagues in the House of Representatives.

The session comes amid ongoing controversy over the Electoral Act. Last week, the Senate rejected proposals for the real-time electronic transmission of election results under Clause 60 (3), while retaining the provision from the 2022 Act that allows the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to determine the mode of transmission.

Opposition leaders criticised the move, warning it could weaken Nigeria’s democracy, and staged protests at the National Assembly.

However, on Tuesday, the Senate reversed its earlier decision, approving electronic transmission, though without the term “real-time.”

It also specified that in areas where internet connectivity fails, Form EC8A will remain the primary instrument for collating results.

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