A few members of the House of Representatives on Tuesday staged a walkout in protest against moves to reverse the passage of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
The incident followed an executive session convened by the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, which failed to resolve the dispute as the chamber descended into another rowdy session over the issue.
The tension escalated after Francis Waive, Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, moved a motion seeking to reverse the House’s earlier decision on the bill passed in December last year.
Abbas had put the motion to a voice vote. While the “nays” were louder than the “ayes”, he ruled that the ayes had it, a development which triggered protest.
Then the House went into executive session.
However, upon resumption from the executive session, lawmakers rose in protest and prevented the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, from continuing with proceedings.
Eventually, the aggrieved members staged a walkout from the plenary.
The protesting lawmakers maintained their opposition to Clause 60(3), which provides for the compulsory electronic transmission of election results.
More details to follow.
