Members of the House of Representatives on Tuesday staged a walkout during plenary, chanting “APC ole,” after the chamber adopted Clause 60(3) of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
The adopted clause provides for both real-time electronic transmission and manual transmission of election results.
The controversy began when Rep. Bamidele Salam moved a motion seeking to delete the provision that allows manual transmission of results. He argued that retaining manual transmission could undermine the credibility of the electoral process and slow Nigeria’s technological advancement in conducting elections.
The motion was seconded by Rep. Kingsley Chinda but was defeated after the “nays” prevailed in a voice vote.
The outcome sparked tension in the chamber, resulting in heated exchanges among lawmakers.
Earlier, Nigerian Newssphere reported that the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, called for an executive session in a bid to address the disagreement. However, the closed-door meeting failed to resolve the concerns raised by aggrieved members.
When the plenary resumed, the situation worsened as some lawmakers stood up and obstructed the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, from continuing proceedings.
The protesting members eventually walked out of the chamber, reiterating their opposition to Clause 60(3), which deals with the electronic transmission of election results.
A video of the incident has since surfaced online.
Watch video:
https://x.com/emmaikumeh/status/2023755615101948383?s=46
