Reps in rowdy session over move to reverse Electoral Act amendment

Proceedings in the House of Representatives of Nigeria were disrupted on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, following disagreements among lawmakers over a motion seeking to overturn the recent passage of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.

The motion was moved by the Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, Francis Waive, who asked the lawmakers to rescind their approval of the bill earlier passed on December 23, 2025.

Trouble began after the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, subjected the motion to a voice vote.

Although lawmakers opposing the motion were in the majority, the Speaker ruled in favour of the motion.

The decision immediately sparked loud protests on the floor, with several lawmakers openly challenging the ruling.

In a bid to restore order, Abbas called for the House to move into an executive session.

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The proposal, however, was rejected by members during another voice vote. Despite the resistance, the Speaker proceeded to direct that the chamber move into a closed session.

The disagreement followed the House’s recent approval of amendments to the Electoral Act, which introduced a provision mandating the real-time electronic transmission of polling unit results to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) result viewing portal (IReV).

“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,” the approved clause read.

The Star