BREAKING: Senate slashes INEC election notice window from 360 to 180 days

Abuja — Nigeria’s Senate has approved a major change to the country’s election timetable, cutting the statutory period for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to publish the official notice of election from 360 days to 180 days before polling day.

The adjustment was adopted during clause-by-clause consideration of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2026, as lawmakers reviewed the bill’s provisions at the Committee of the Whole.

The amendment was moved by Senator Tahir Monguno, chairman of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, who argued for shortening the notice timeline to about six months.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio presided over the session and announced that a joint Senate–House committee would harmonise differences in the amendment bill before forwarding it to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for assent.