2027 Elections: Senate moves to clean up INEC, rewrite Nigeria’s Voting Rules

The Senate has outlined key legislative priorities for the second half of the 10th National Assembly, with electoral and judicial reforms topping the agenda as Nigeria approaches the 2027 general elections.

To mark its midterm anniversary, the upper legislative chamber revealed that 983 bills were introduced between June 13, 2023, and June 12, 2025. Of these, 108 were passed into law.

Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, in a statement on Sunday, described the performance as a “great feat” and reaffirmed the Senate’s commitment to deepening democracy and promoting good governance.

“In the 2024/2025 legislative year, for instance, 506 bills were initiated in the Senate alone compared to 477 in 2023/2024. This represents a 6.07% increase,” Bamidele stated.

“Also, in the 2024/2025 legislative year, the upper chamber fully passed 83 bills into law compared to 25 in the previous legislative year.

“This represents truly a great feat that glaringly accounts for a 232% increase in the number of fully enacted legislations between 2023 and 2025. Against 13 in the 2023/2024 legislative year, the Senate dealt with 26 executive bills in 2024/2025, invariably indicating a 100% upsurge. This record shows that 464 private member bills were initiated in 2023/2024 compared to 480 in 2024/2025,” he added.

Providing further breakdown, he said: “By 2024/2025 legislative year, 89 bills are awaiting first reading in the upper chamber as against 135 in 2023/2024; 45 awaiting second reading in 2023/2024 compared to 230 in 2024/2025; 215 appointments were confirmed in 2023/2024 compared to 116 in 2024/2025; and 50 different petitions successfully resolved in 2023/2024 with 80 duly addressed in 2024/2025.”

Among the 108 bills passed into law are the National Social Investment Programmes Act, 2023; Student Loan (Access to Higher Education) Act, 2024; National Minimum Wage Amendment Act, 2024; Investments and Securities Act, 2025; Regional Development Commission (Establishment) Acts, 2025; and the Tax Reform Bills, 2025.

On the student loan initiative, Bamidele described its impact as transformational.

“As displayed on the dashboard of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, 1,094,057 students have applied for the scheme. Of this figure, 563,279 institutional loans have been granted while 530,773 upkeep loans processed. Without purposeful collaboration, the student loan scheme will not have come through.”

He also underscored the Tax Reform Bills as vital for addressing Nigeria’s fiscal challenges.

“The passage of the Tax Reform Bills, 2025 is a testament to the resolve of the 10th National Assembly to end the country’s fiscal challenge and carry out far-reaching reforms that would eliminate structural inefficiencies in the country’s tax administration; simplify tax obligations for businesses and citizens; boost investors’ confidence in the domestic economy and catalyse monumental growth across all sectors.”

Looking ahead, Bamidele said electoral reforms will be front and centre as Nigeria moves toward the 2027 elections.

“We will prioritise reforms of the country’s electoral regime to ensure every vote continues to count; guarantee good governance in the country and make participation in our electoral process more interesting for the decent and innocent citizens.

“When you know that if you contest for an election, your vote will definitely count, this assurance will make democracy more interesting for our people, enhance voters’ participation in the process and make our electoral process more credible and transparent.”

He also pointed to plans for significant reforms in the judiciary. “We are equally looking forward to greater judicial reforms in the next two years to ensure justice is done transparently and tenaciously. We already have various bills that seek the reforms of the judiciary. While some are seeking a review of how judges and judicial officers are appointed, others focus on their length of service and welfare.”

The 10th National Assembly was inaugurated on June 13, 2023, with Senator Godswill Akpabio elected as President of the Senate and Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas as Speaker of the House of Representatives.