BREAKING: Reps hold heated session over move to revisit Electoral Act Amendment

The House of Representatives has begun fresh legislative steps to revisit key parts of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2025, aiming to protect the integrity of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.

On Tuesday, lawmakers paused ongoing budget defence sessions to focus on what they described as “issues that will define the elections of 2027.”

Presiding over the session, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas praised members who travelled from outside Abuja to attend, describing the meeting as a crucial national assignment. He said the session’s sole purpose was the rescission and recommittal of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2025.

“The issues before us will define the elections of 2027 and give a clear vision as to what is expected to be done,” he said, underscoring the urgency of revisiting certain clauses earlier passed by the House.

“The first motion, standing in the name of Hon. Francis Waive, who represents Ughelli North, Ughelli South and Udu Federal Constituency of Delta State, sought the rescission of the bill pursuant to Order Nine, Rule 6 of the House Standing Orders.

Moving the motion, Waiwe reminded the House that the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2025 was passed in December 2025. However, he disclosed that a technical committee comprising the leadership of both chambers of the National Assembly, members of the conference committee, clerks of the Senate and the House of Representatives, as well as legal drafters from the Directorate of Legal Services, subsequently met to harmonise the bill and address identified anomalies.

He noted that the committee’s review process revealed inconsistencies and unintended consequences in some of the provisions, necessitating further legislative action.

Waive stressed that it was imperative for the House to ensure that electoral laws promote “maximum participation, fairness, inclusivity, administrative efficiency and public confidence in the electoral system.”

He argued that correcting the identified inconsistencies through appropriate legislative measures would strengthen the credibility of the country’s electoral framework ahead of 2027.

“The House resolves to rescind the decision on the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2025 and commit the same to the Committee of the Whole for consideration,” he said.

Following the motion, the Chairman of the House Committee on Electoral Act, Adebayo Balogun, moved a second motion to formally recommit the bill for fresh consideration.

When the question was put by the Speaker to rescind the Electoral Act, the “nays” had it but the Speaker hit the gavel, giving it to the “yeahs”. This led to lawmakers protesting on the floor of the House, insisting the “nays” had it, the Speaker then called for a closed-door session.

The development signals a renewed push by lawmakers to fine-tune the electoral framework amid heightened political interest in the 2027 general elections, with the House indicating that no legislative effort would be spared to ensure transparency and credibility in the nation’s democratic process.

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