After an extensive moon searching exercise, the Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia has declared that Wednesday, February 18, 2026, will mark the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan for this year, 1447 AH.

The announcement followed reports from authorized moon sighting committees across the Kingdom, in accordance with Islamic tradition, that the moon was sighted in the country.

With the confirmation on Tuesday, Muslims across Saudi Arabia will begin fasting at dawn on Wednesday, observing the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar with prayers, reflection, and charitable acts.

Ramadan is a period of spiritual devotion marked by daily fasting from dawn to sunset, increased worship, and community gatherings.

Mosques across the Kingdom are preparing to receive worshippers for Taraweeh prayers, while authorities have finalized arrangements to ensure smooth services during the holy month.

Government entities and private institutions are also set to implement adjusted working hours in line with Ramadan schedules.

The Senate on Tuesday passed the Electoral Act, 2022 (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill 2026.

Before the passage, there was a rowdy session as the upper chamber resumed proceedings with a demand for division over Clause 60 raised by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (ADC/Abia South).

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, stated that he believed the demand had previously been withdrawn, but several opposition senators immediately objected to that claim.

Citing Order 52(6), the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, argued that it would be out of order to revisit any provision on which the Senate President had already ruled.

This submission sparked another uproar in the chamber, during which Senator Sunday Karimi had a brief face-off with Abaribe.

The Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, then reminded lawmakers that he had sponsored the motion for rescission, underscoring that decisions previously taken by the Senate are no longer valid.

He maintained that, consistent with his motion, Senator Abaribe’s demand was in line.

Akpabio further suggested that the call for division was merely an attempt by Senator Abaribe to publicly demonstrate his stance to Nigerians.

The Senate President sustained the point of order, after which Abaribe rose in protest and was urged to formally move his motion.

Rising under Order 72(1), Abaribe called for a division on Clause 60(3), specifically concerning the provision that if electronic transmission of results fails, Form EC8A should not serve as the sole basis, calling for the removal of the proviso that allows for manual transmission of results in the event of network failure.

During the division, Akpabio directed senators who supported the caveat to stand.

He then asked those opposed to the caveat to rise.

Fifteen opposition senators stood in opposition.

However, when the votes were counted, the Senate President announced that 15 senators were not in support of the proviso, while 55 senators voted in support of it.

Clause-By-Clause Consideration

Earlier, proceedings in the Senate were momentarily stalled as lawmakers began clause-by-clause consideration of the Electoral Act, 2022 (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill 2026, following a motion to rescind the earlier amendment.

The motion to rescind the bill was formally seconded on Tuesday, paving the way for the upper chamber to dissolve into the committee of the whole for detailed reconsideration and reenactment of the proposed legislation.

During the session, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, reeled out the clauses one after the other for deliberation.

However, the process stalled when at clause 60, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (ADC/Abia South), raised a point of order, drawing immediate attention on the floor.

Following the intervention, murmurs spread across the chamber as lawmakers began speaking in small groups and approaching the Senate President’s desk for consultations.

The session immediately moved into a closed-door session.

Dangote Group has signed a $400 million construction equipment agreement with XCMG Construction Machinery Co., Ltd., one of China’s leading manufacturers of construction machinery, in a move set to accelerate the expansion of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals from 650,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day, positioning it to become the largest refinery in the world.

The agreement will enable the Group to acquire additional wide range of advanced construction equipment to support ongoing and forthcoming projects across refining, petrochemicals, agriculture, and large-scale infrastructure development. The new equipment will complement existing assets deployed for the refinery expansion, which is expected to be completed within three years.

Beyond refining, the expansion programme will see polypropylene production increase from 900,000 metric tonnes per annum to 2.4 million metric tonnes per annum. Urea capacity in Nigeria will be tripled from 3 million to 9 million metric tonnes per annum, in addition to the 3 million metric tonnes per annum capacity in Ethiopia, strengthening the Group’s position as the largest urea producer globally.

Production capacity for Linear Alkyl Benzene (LAB) will also be increased to 400,000 metric tonnes per annum, positioning the Group as the largest producer in Africa and strengthening supply to the detergent and cleaning agents manufacturing industry. Additional base oil production capacity also forms part of the broader expansion programme.

In a statement, the Group described the agreement as a strategic investment aimed at deepening its construction footprint and accelerating its ambition to build a $100 billion enterprise by 2030.

“The additional equipment we are acquiring under this partnership will significantly enhance execution across our projects. With this investment, we are positioning ourselves to become the number one construction company in the world,” the statement said.

Dangote Group is currently accelerating expansion and regional market development as it advances toward its long-term vision of building a $100 billion enterprise by 2030.