President Bola Tinubu has signed the Electoral Act, 2022 (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill 2026 into law, following the passage of the bill by the National Assembly on Tuesday after months of deliberations.

Tinubu signed the bill at the State House on Wednesday in the presence of top government officials, including the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio; the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas; and the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.

He said the essence of democracy is to have very solid discussions committed to national development and nation-building, essential for the stability of the nation.

According to him, it is high time Nigerians had confidence in their system.

“It’s not as important as the history aspects of this. What is crucial is the fact that you manage the process to the extent there will be no confusion, no disenfranchisement of Nigerians, and that we are all going to see democracy flourish.

“No matter how good the system is, it’s managed by the people, promoted by the people, and the result is finalised by the people,” The President said.

On the ongoing debates over the transmission of election results, Tinubu said, “In fact, for final results, you are not going to be talking to the computer; you are going to be talking to human beings who will announce the final results.

“And when you look at the crux of various arguments, maybe Nigerians should question our broadband capability. How technically are we today? How technically will we be tomorrow to answer the call of either real-time or not?

“And as long as you appear personally, as a manual voter in any polling booth, a ballot paper is given to you manually, you decide in a corner and thumbprint the passing of your choice, you cast your votes, without hindrance and any interference, ballots are subsequently counted manually, sorted, and counted manually.”

“It’s just the arithmetic accuracy that is to enter into Form EC8A. It’s the manual, essentially. The transmission of that manual result is what we’re looking at.

“And we need to avoid glitches — I’m glad you did — interference, unnecessary hacking in this age of computer inquisitiveness.

“Nigeria will be there. We will flourish. We will continue to nurture this democracy for the fulfillment of our dream for the prosperity and stability of our country,” the President added.

The bill has generated heated debates in the last one week, with lawmakers and prominent Nigerians disagreeing over the method for the transmission of results, ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The Senate had on Tuesday passed the Electoral Act, 2022 (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill 2026 but not without a rowdy session as the upper chamber resumed proceedings with a demand for division over Clause 60 raised by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (ADC/Abia South).

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, had stated that he believed the demand had previously been withdrawn, but several opposition senators immediately objected to that claim.

Citing Order 52(6), the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, argued that it would be out of order to revisit any provision on which the Senate President had already ruled.

This submission sparked another uproar in the chamber, during which Senator Sunday Karimi had a brief face-off with Abaribe.

The Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, then reminded lawmakers that he had sponsored the motion for rescission, underscoring that decisions previously taken by the Senate are no longer valid.

He maintained that, consistent with his motion, Senator Abaribe’s demand was in line.

Akpabio further suggested that the call for division was merely an attempt by Senator Abaribe to publicly demonstrate his stance to Nigerians.

The senate president sustained the point of order, after which Abaribe rose in protest and was urged to formally move his motion.

Rising under Order 72(1), Abaribe called for a division on Clause 60(3), specifically concerning the provision that if electronic transmission of results fails, Form EC8A should not serve as the sole basis, calling for the removal of the proviso that allows for manual transmission of results in the event of network failure.

During the division, Akpabio directed senators who supported the caveat to stand.

He then asked those opposed to the caveat to rise.

Fifteen opposition senators stood in opposition.

However, when the votes were counted, the Senate President announced that 15 senators were not in support of the proviso, while 55 senators voted in support of it.

Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, former Special Adviser on Political Matters to Bola Tinubu, has criticised the President’s leadership, warning that a second term in 2027 could cement what he described as a damaging legacy.

Speaking on Tuesday during an appearance on Political Paradigm on Channels Television, Baba-Ahmed said he has seen no meaningful improvement in governance since leaving office, arguing instead that conditions across the country have worsened.

According to him, insecurity has deepened and economic hardship has intensified, particularly in northern Nigeria. He painted a bleak picture of daily life for many citizens, citing what he called rising desperation and poverty.

“Our nation has been a lot more insecure now than when I left,” he said. “What I see at home and on the streets when people speak — the level of desperation and poverty — is most pronounced, especially in the northern part of the country.”

Baba-Ahmed also accused the President of prioritising political manoeuvring over governance, alleging that efforts are being concentrated on consolidating support among political actors ahead of the next general election.

“I see a president who is amassing politicians around him with the hope that they will deliver him a second term,” he said. “That is poor thinking. It’s not strategic, and it’s not the Tinubu we used to hear about.”

Expressing disappointment over what he described as a troubling leadership trajectory, Baba-Ahmed concluded that a return to office in 2027 could see Tinubu judged harshly by history.

“I’m sorry to say that I think President Tinubu will make the worst president if he returns to power in 2027,” he said.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, has explained the National Assembly’s decision to reduce the election notice period from 360 days to 300 days.

Speaking at the State House on Wednesday after President Bola Tinubu signed the Electoral Bill into law, the Speaker said the adjustment would help avoid conducting the 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections during Ramadan.

He said, “Well, I think the Senate President has said most of the things that we have done yesterday during the amendment exercise. However, there is one area that I’m sure he forgot to mention, and that is the number of days’ notice, which was earlier in the 2022 Act, 360 days.

“Now we have seen the wisdom to reduce it to 300 days, and this will inadvertently translate to holding the presidential and National Assembly elections in January 2027. That will technically avoid conducting elections during the month of Ramadan in 2027, and I think this is another piece of ingenuity that the National Assembly has introduced to avoid voter apathy in the next general election.”

President Tinubu signed the bill into law on Wednesday in the presence of the leadership of the National Assembly, following its passage by lawmakers on Tuesday.

However, the bill was not passed without controversy. The House of Representatives witnessed a rowdy session on Tuesday as lawmakers disagreed over a motion seeking to rescind the passage of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, which contained provisions for real-time electronic transmission of results.

The Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, Francis Waive, had moved a motion for the House to rescind its earlier decision on the bill, which was passed on December 23, in line with the Senate’s position on real-time electronic transmission of election results.

When Speaker Tajudeen Abbas put the motion to a voice vote, the “nays” were louder than the “ayes,” but he ruled that the ayes had it.

The ruling triggered protests from lawmakers, who shouted in objection, prompting the Speaker to call for an executive session.

When the House passed the Electoral Act in December 2025, it adopted compulsory real-time transmission of election results to IReV.