The House of Representatives was thrown into confusion on Tuesday following sharp disagreements over a proposal to revisit the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025.
The stormy plenary, presided over by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, began quietly but soon degenerated after a motion seeking to rescind the earlier decision on the amendment bill was introduced.
The motion, listed as the only business of the day, was moved by the Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, Francis Waive, and backed by the Chairman of the Committee on Electoral Matters, Adebayo Balogun.
Explaining the rationale behind the move, Waive told lawmakers that a Technical Committee comprising leaders of both chambers of the National Assembly, members of the Conference Committee, clerks of the Senate and House, as well as legal experts from the Directorate of Legal Services, had reviewed the legislation to address identified discrepancies.
He noted that the review was necessary to protect electoral timelines, uphold statutory obligations and strengthen transparency, inclusiveness and efficiency within the country’s electoral framework.
According to him, rescinding the bill would allow the House to recommit it to the Committee of the Whole for thorough reconsideration and correction of perceived anomalies.
Tension, however, erupted when the Speaker called for a voice vote on the motion. Although the “nays” appeared to dominate, Abbas ruled in favour of the “ayes,” prompting loud protests from several lawmakers, particularly members of the minority caucus who insisted they had the numerical advantage.
In the ensuing uproar, a member representing Jigawa State, Abubakar Yalleman, was seen directing angry gestures at his colleague from Osun State, Bamidele Salam.
The exact details of their disagreement were unclear as the chamber grew increasingly disorderly.
With tempers flaring and lawmakers shouting across the aisle, the Speaker ordered a closed-door executive session to restore calm. As of the time this report was filed, plenary had yet to resume.
A lawmaker who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity alleged that efforts were being made to alter the version of the bill previously approved by the House.
He warned that members would resist any attempt to smuggle in changes inconsistent with what had been adopted.
The controversy follows the setting up of conference committees by both chambers of the National Assembly to reconcile differences in their respective versions of the amendment bill.
While the House endorsed mandatory real-time electronic transmission of election results, the Senate approved a version allowing manual transmission in situations where electronic transmission fails.
