RismadarVoice Reporters, June 24, 2026
The Senate on Wednesday adopted manual and open voting for the consideration of the State Police Bill following a technical fault in its electronic voting system.
The decision was taken after concerns were raised that the malfunctioning device could disenfranchise some lawmakers and affect the integrity of the voting process.
President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, supported the move and advocated open voting, saying it would enable constituents to know where their representatives stand on the proposed state police framework.
Under the arrangement, senators were required to stand individually, announce their names and openly declare their positions on each clause of the bill during the consideration process.
The Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, moved the motion for the adoption of manual voting, while the Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro, seconded it.
The motion was subsequently adopted, paving the way for lawmakers to continue deliberations and voting on the proposed legislation through an open and transparent process.
The State Police Bill is one of the key constitutional amendment proposals currently before the National Assembly and is aimed at creating state-controlled police formations to complement the operations of the Nigeria Police Force.
