Rivers Crisis: Nigerian lawmakers use voice votes to determine matter requiring two-thirds

The two chambers of the Nigerian National Assembly used voice votes to approve President Bola Tinubu’s State of Emergency in Rivers despite a constitutional provision that mandates two-thirds majority votes by each chamber for such approval.

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Section 305 (6b) of the Nigerian constitution mandates that a state of emergency in any part of Nigeria proclaimed by the president must be supported by a “two-thirds majority of all the members of each House of the National Assembly.”

Many Nigerians had, thus, hoped that the Senate and House of Representatives would adopt proper debate and voting procedures so Nigerians would know the actual number of lawmakers that supported the president’s declaration, who they were and whether or not the constitutional requirement was met.

With 109 senators and 360 rep members, this means at least 73 senators and 240 representatives must vote in favour of the emergency rule.

However, instead of conducting an official roll-call vote in which each lawmaker’s stance is recorded, both chambers of the National Assembly adopted a voice vote, a method where lawmakers simply shout “aye” or “nay,” and the presiding officer subjectively determines which side has the majority.

The approval process

In the Senate, lawmakers first held a closed-door meeting for one-hour and twenty minutes, where they agreed to support the proclamation.

After returning to the plenary, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, read a prepared resolution and put it to a voice vote. There was no open debate, and PREMIUM TIMES observed that no senator was heard opposing the motion when it was put to a voice vote.

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Similarly, in the House of Representatives, the proclamation was put to a voice vote, and the majority supported it, without an official count of individual votes.

Nigerians speak

“A two-thirds majority cannot be achieved via a voice vote. Members voting for or against the resolution to ratify the President’s emergency actions must identify themselves and cast their votes individually,” banker Atedo Peterside wrote on X before Thursday’s meetings of the lawmakers.

READ ALSO: Emergency Rule: Why I walked out of Senate chamber – Seriake Dickson

The view was shared by many other Nigerians including activist Dele Farotimi, who argued that a voice vote cannot substitute for a recorded two-thirds majority vote required by the Constitution.

“It is interesting that Uncle Atedo is raising this point. @Senator_Akpabio must not resort to a voice vote in determining the 2/3 majority demanded by the Constitution. The vote must be clearly counted, and the numbers clearly determined. A voice vote will not suffice,” Mr Farotimi wrote before the sitting.