Drama Trails Passage of Electoral Act 2026 in House of Reps

The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved the Electoral Act 2026 following a dramatic plenary session.

The development was confirmed by the House Spokesperson, Akin Rotimi, during a press briefing in Abuja.

Describing the decision as a landmark moment for Nigeria’s democratic process, Rotimi stressed that the passage of the bill was not influenced by party affiliations, but driven by a collective commitment to electoral reforms and national interest.

“Yes, the opposition staged a walk out but it is on record that some of the opposition stayed back and voted for the passage,” he said.

The spokesperson said the decision of the house was for the progress of Nigeria.

According to him, if there are issues with electronically transmitting the results, then it will go manual. 

While speaking to reporters, Rep Kingsley Chinda said the minority could not support any provision that, in their view, opens the door to manipulation of election results.

“Our position is that elections shall and should be transmitted electronically,” he declared. “We are against any clause that would give room for micro-manipulation, rigging, or leeway for any untoward act.”

He said that the minority had proposed that where there is any conflict between the manually collated Form EC8A results and electronically transmitted results, the electronically transmitted version should prevail.

“Those positions were torn down,” he said.

“And we are aware that they were torn down by members of the APC, not on grounds of patriotism, but on grounds of political party affiliation.”

“For us, after what happened on the floor, we felt it was better to register our position with Nigeria, which is the court of public opinion. So we had to leave the plenary. We had to walk out to address you,” he stated.