Senate President, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, has expressed satisfaction with the newly signed Electoral Act, describing it as a historic and painstaking piece of legislation that reflects the genuine aspirations of Nigerians.

Speaking at the State House after President Tinubu assented to the bill, Akpabio said lawmakers were patriotic and thorough, taking into account the peculiarities of the Nigerian environment while resisting undue external interference.

He said the National Assembly was pleased to have interpreted the intentions and yearnings of the majority of Nigerians, “not those who are politically motivated, not a few people who make noise. Noise is different from lawmaking.”

Akpabio said the new law would usher in greater transparency, prosperity, and fairness in future elections, stressing that every vote cast by Nigerians would count.

According to him, one of the most significant provisions of the amended Act is the formal recognition of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System result viewer, popularly known as IReV, as a legitimate and verifiable record of polling unit results.

He explained that results transmitted electronically, even from areas with poor network coverage, would reflect on the IReV portal once connectivity is restored. This, he said, would enable Nigerians to detect any tampering as results move from polling units to collation centres.

The Senate President described this as a landmark development, noting that for the first time since Nigeria’s independence in 1960, electronic transmission of results has been formally recognised in law.

Akpabio also highlighted reforms empowering political party members to vote directly for candidates of their choice during primaries, rather than leaving decisions to a small group of delegates.

He added that the law now requires a fresh election where a leading candidate is disqualified by a court, preventing a situation in which a candidate with significantly fewer votes is declared winner by default.

The bill has sparked heated debate over the past week, with lawmakers and prominent Nigerians divided over the method of transmitting election results ahead of the 2027 general elections.

On Tuesday, the Senate passed the Electoral Act, 2022 (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill, 2026, following a rowdy session after Sen. Enyinnaya Abaribe demanded a division over Clause 60.