Reps in Rowdy Session Over Motion to Rescind Passage of Electoral Act Amendment

Proceedings in the house of representatives turned rowdy on Tuesday as lawmakers disagreed over a motion seeking to rescind the passage of the Electoral Act Amendment bill.

During plenary, Francis Waive, chairman of the house of representatives committee on rules and business, moved a motion for the house to reverse its decision on the bill which was passed on December 23, 2025.When Tajudeen Abbas, speaker of the house, put the motion to a voice vote, the “nays” were louder than the “ayes”, but he ruled that the ayes had it.

The ruling triggered protests from lawmakers, who began hollering in objection. Abbas subsequently called for an executive session, but the proposal was also rejected.

Despite the resistance, the speaker moved the house into an executive session.

BACKGROUND

When the green chamber passed the electoral act in December, it adopted a proposal mandating the real-time transmission of election results to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s result viewing portal (IReV).

The approved clause states that the “presiding officer shall electronically transmit the results from each polling unit to the IReV portal in real time, 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 unit agents, where available at the polling unit”.