The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed the harmonised version of the Electoral Act amendment Bill after a prolonged, rowdy session that saw shouting matches, repeated voice votes, and a walkout by opposition lawmakers.
The bill titled, “A Bill for an Act to Repeal the Electoral Act, No. 13, 2022 and Enact the Electoral Bill, 2026, to Regulate the Conduct of Federal, State and Area Councils in the Federal Capital Territory Elections and for Related Matters,” was approved following clause-by-clause consideration in the Committee of the Whole.
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The plenary session was convened as an emergency one to address issues arising from the timetable for the 2027 general elections recently announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The lawmakers had earlier adjourned for two weeks to enable standing committees to conduct 2026 budget defence sessions for ministries, departments and agencies.
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However, a press statement issued on Friday by the House Spokesperson, Akin Rotimi, informed members of the need to reconvene. An internal memorandum from the Office of the Speaker, Abbas Tajudeen, cited the constitutional and national importance of developments surrounding the 2027 election timetable.
Rowdy session
Trouble began when the Chairperson of the Committee on Rules and Business, Francis Waive (APC, Delta), moved a motion pursuant to Order Nine, Rule 1(6) of the Standing Orders, seeking to rescind the passage of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which the House had approved in December 2025.
Mr Waive said the motion was necessary to align the legislation with emerging electoral reforms and urged members to recommit the bill to the Committee of the Whole for reconsideration.
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When the motion was put to a voice vote by the Speaker, Abbas Tajudeen, a majority voted against it. The outcome sparked protests on the floor, with members openly disagreeing, resulting in a rowdy session that lasted several minutes.
In an apparent effort to calm tensions, a separate motion was moved for the House to dissolve into executive (closed-door) session. When the proposal was put to a voice vote, lawmakers again rejected it.
Despite the resistance, the House was eventually called into a closed-door session.
Clause-by-clause disagreement
After more than an hour in executive session, Mr Tajudeen stepped aside, and the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, presided as the House moved into the Committee of the Whole to consider a Bill to repeal the Electoral Act, 2022, and enact the Electoral Bill, 2026.
As deliberations began, Mr Kalu took several clauses in bulk. This drew protests from lawmakers who insisted on clause-by-clause consideration. Ignoring the objections, he repeatedly struck the gavel after voice votes on grouped provisions.
Tensions escalated as some members left their seats and approached the chair, chanting clause by clause.”
After several minutes, Mr Kalu pleaded with them to return to their seat, assuring them that they would restart the consideration process from Clause 1 and that each provision would be considered individually, as was done during the executive session. Order gradually returned, and lawmakers resumed their seats.
At one point, a member repeatedly raised a point of order, claiming some lawmakers did not have copies of the document under consideration. Mr Kalu cautioned members against speaking without recognition and directed that copies be shared.
Dispute over Section 60
Fresh disorder broke out when the Committee reached Clause 60 in reference to the controversial section on electronic transmission of results during elections.
When put to a voice vote, there was a divided response: some agreed, while a majority disagreed with the clause.
However, Mr Kalu ignored it, hit the gavel, and continued with the other clauses. This led to another rowdy session with lawmakers again approaching him and chanting, “Section 60.”
This rowdiness lasted for several minutes, stalling deliberation. Mr Kalu again urged lawmakers to return to their seats to continue the deliberations. He thereafter opened the floor for a debate.
Bamidele Salam (PDP, Osun) proposed retaining only Clause 60(3), which mandates that the presiding officer electronically transmit the results from each polling unit to the IREV portal after signing and stamping Form EC8A.
He urged the removal of the proviso that allows Form EC8A to serve as the primary source of collation where electronic transmission fails due to communication challenges.
The clause states, “The Presiding Officer shall electronically transmit the results from each polling unit to the IREV portal, and such transmission shall be done after the prescribed Form EC8A has been signed and stamped by the Presiding Officer and/or countersigned by the candidates or Polling agents where available at the Polling Unit.
“Provided that if the electronic transmission of the result fails as a result of communication failure and it becomes impossible to transmit the result contained in form EC8A signed and stamped by the Presiding Officer and countersigned by the candidates or polling agents where available at the polling unit, the form EC8A shall remain the primary source of collation and declaration of the result.”
According to Mr Salam, the caveat was “unnecessary and contradictory.” The Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda (PDP, Rivers), seconded the amendment.
When put to a voice vote, the proposal initially appeared to gain majority support, prompting the deputy speaker to strike the gavel. However, following protests, the matter was subjected to a second voice vote, during which the majority voted against it.
Etanabene Benedict (LP, Delta) also proposed that in cases of discrepancy between results on the IREV portal and Form EC8A, the electronically transmitted result should prevail. The proposal was rejected.
Other amendments by Ikenga Ugochinyere (PDP, Imo) and Abdussamad Dasuki (PDP, Sokoto), among others, were similarly defeated by voice vote.
Despite repeated objections and intermittent disorder, the Committee of the Whole concluded the clause-by-clause consideration, and the House passed the harmonised version of the bill.
It, thereafter, adjourned to Tuesday, 24 February.
Opposition walks out
Following the rejection of the amendments, opposition lawmakers staged a walkout and proceeded to the House of Representatives press centre.
Led by Minority Leader Mr Chinda, the lawmakers chanted “APC, Ole” and alleged that the process was driven by partisan interests rather than national good. Some claimed that certain members had collected money, although no names or parties were mentioned.
Mr Chinda said opposition members opposed the approved versions of Sections 60 and 84. On Section 60, he maintained that results should be “transmitted electronically without any proviso that reverts to manual collation in the event of transmission failure.”
On Section 84, he argued that political parties should determine their preferred methods for selecting candidates as part of their internal affairs, rather than being restricted to specific options.
Senate re-amends bill
A similar rowdy session had earlier occurred in the Senate over a motion to rescind its earlier decision on the bill. The upper chamber eventually approved the rescission and proceeded to re-amend the Electoral Act.
The Senate’s version accommodates electronic transmission of results but retains a caveat that Form EC8A will serve as the primary means of collation where electronic transmission fails.
Following the Senate’s action, Senate President Godswill Akpabio reconstituted the harmonisation committee to reconcile differences between both chambers. He reappointed Simon Lalong (APC, Plateau South) as chairman.
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Other members include Tahir Monguno (APC, Borno North), Adamu Aleiro (APC, Kebbi Central), Adeniyi Adegbonmire (APC, Ondo Central), Orji Kalu (APC, Abia South), Abba Moro (PDP, Benue), Asuquo Ekpeyong (APC, Cross River), Aminu Abbas (PDP, Adamawa), Tokunbo Abiru (APC, Lagos), Isah Jibrin (APC, Kogi), Ipalibo Banigo (PDP, Rivers) and Peter Nwebonyi (APC, Ebonyi).
Similarly, the House constituted a seven-member conference committee chaired by Adebayo Balogun (APC, Lagos) to harmonise the bill. Members include Fred Agbedi (PDP, Bayelsa), Sada Soli (APC, Katsina), Ahmadu Jaha (APC, Borno), Iduma Enwo (PDP, Ebonyi), Saidu Abdullahi (APC, Niger) and Zainab Gimba (APC, Borno).
According to the Spokesperson of the House, Mr Rotimi, the outcome of the harmonisation committee, which sat on Monday, determined the final shape of the proposed amendments ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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