House denies stalling the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, says harmonisation with Senate may be completed next week ahead of 2027 polls

The House of Representatives has dismissed allegations that the National Assembly is deliberately stalling the consideration and passage of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, saying the proposed legislation is likely to be harmonised with the Senate next week.

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The Chairman of the House Committee on Electoral Matters, Mr Adebayo Balogun, said the delay was procedural rather than political, insisting that legislative work on the bill was ongoing in both chambers.

Mr Adebayo Balogun, who represents Ibeju-Lekki Federal Constituency of Lagos State, rejected suggestions of deliberate delay and expressed optimism that the harmonisation stage would soon be completed.

“The Senate is in session, considering the bill. Hopefully, the harmonisation will be completed by next week,” Mr Adebayo Balogun said.

He added that once concurrence between the Senate and the House was concluded, the bill would be transmitted to the President for assent in readiness for the 2027 general election.

Meanwhile, the Senate on Tuesday again failed to conclude work on the long-awaited Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill after retreating into an extended closed-door session that ended without any public resolution.

Lawmakers spent about four and a half hours in an executive session deliberating on the report of the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, chaired by Senator Simon Lalong, alongside submissions from a seven-member ad hoc committee constituted to resolve contentious clauses in the bill.

When plenary resumed at about 5:35pm, no details of the deliberations were disclosed.

The executive session began shortly after 1:05pm following a motion by the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, for the Senate to dissolve into a Committee of the Whole for clause-by-clause consideration of the report.

Although the ad hoc committee report, headed by Senator Niyi Adegbonmire, was listed on the Order Paper for presentation and final consideration, senators opted to deliberate behind closed doors.

On resumption of plenary, Senate President Godswill Akpabio gave a brief account of proceedings.

“At the executive session, the Senate deliberated on matters relating to the working of the Senate in particular and the nation in general,” Senator Godswill Akpabio said, before adjourning plenary without further explanation.

The repeated delay has heightened uncertainty surrounding the bill, widely regarded as critical to strengthening Nigeria’s electoral framework ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Key proposals before the Senate include mandatory real-time electronic transmission of election results to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Result Viewing Portal, tougher penalties for electoral offences, and updated provisions reflecting evolving technology.

A new sub-clause seeks to criminalise the failure of presiding officers to sign and stamp ballot papers and officially announced results.

The committee also recommended replacing references to the “smart card reader” with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System in Sections 47(2) and (3) of the Act.

Amendments to Section 54(1) would prohibit party agents or candidates from accompanying visually impaired or incapacitated voters into voting cubicles.

The development comes days after the Senate inaugurated a seven-member ad hoc committee chaired by Senator Niyi Adegbonmire, with Senators Adamu Aliero, Aminu Tambuwal, Adams Oshiomhole, Danjuma Goje, Tony Nwoye and Titus Zam as members, to harmonise positions on the bill.

Opposition parties, including the African Democratic Congress, Labour Party and New Nigeria People’s Party, have criticised what they described as a lack of urgency by the National Assembly.

Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr Femi Falana, also accused lawmakers of deliberately neglecting the bill, arguing that the slow pace suggested a preference for retaining the status quo.

Also read: Senate Defers Electoral Act Bill Amid Shari’ah Council Concerns

The leadership of the National Assembly, however, maintained that the delay was due to legislative procedures and the need to achieve concurrence between both chambers before transmitting the bill for presidential assent.