The battle for Nigeria’s democratic future has moved from the Senate floor to the streets. On Sunday, February 8, 2026, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) issued a blistering ultimatum to the National Assembly: restore the mandatory “real-time” electronic transmission of results or face a total national shutdown.
NLC President Joe Ajaero did not mince words, accusing the Senate of “sabotaging the will of the people” and “eroding democratic accountability” by making electronic transmission optional in the newly passed Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2026. Ajaero warned that if the Senate does not use its emergency session on Tuesday to reverse the deletion of Clause 60(3), the NLC will not only mobilize for nationwide protests but will also lead a massive boycott of the 2027 general elections.
“Nigerian workers will not participate in an electoral process whose outcome is predetermined by manual manipulation,” Ajaero stated. The Congress argues that leaving the method of transmission to INEC’s discretion—after the controversies of 2023—is a recipe for chaos. The NLC’s threat adds massive weight to the growing #OccupyNASS movement, turning Tuesday’s emergency Senate sitting into a make-or-break moment for the current administration’s relationship with organized labor.
