The House of Representatives has established a bipartisan Conference Committee to review and harmonise differences in the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, intensifying efforts to finalise electoral reforms ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In a statement issued on Thursday by the House spokesman, Akin Rotimi, lawmakers said the committee has been tasked with reconciling conflicting provisions between the versions of the bill passed separately by the House and the Senate.
“This development is contained in an internal correspondence dated Wednesday, February 4, 2026, from the Clerk to the House of Representatives, Dr Yahaya Danzaria, Esq, conveying the directive of the Leadership of the House,” the statement partly read.
The seven-member committee is chaired by Mr Adebayo Balogun, Chairman of the House Committee on Electoral Matters and representative of Lagos. Other members include Fred Agbedi, Sada Soli, Ahmadu Jaha, Iduma Igariwey, Saidu Abdullahi and Zainab Gimba.
The panel’s mandate is to “confer with its counterpart from the Senate with a view to harmonising the differing provisions of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill as passed by both Chambers, ahead of final passage by the National Assembly.”
The move follows months of legislative activity on the Electoral Act, driven by calls for reform after the 2023 general election and sustained advocacy from civil society groups, political parties and election observers. Both the House and Senate have passed their own versions of the amendment bill, but differences between the two need resolution before the legislation can be sent to the President for assent.
Disagreements between the chambers include provisions on electronic transmission of results and timelines for releasing the electoral timetable — with the Senate reportedly rejecting a clause mandating real-time electronic transmission of results from polling units, opting instead to retain INEC’s discretion on the process.
The establishment of the conference committee comes amid broader efforts within the National Assembly to ensure that electoral reforms are concluded ahead of the election cycle, with lawmakers emphasising the urgency of delivering a credible legal framework for future polls.
