A senior lawmaker has accused the leadership of Nigeria’s House of Representatives of partisan maneuvering during deliberations on the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, as protests demanding tougher election integrity measures entered a second day at the National Assembly.
Fred Agbedi, a member of the House Committee on Electoral Affairs and a lawmaker from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said the process marginalised minority voices and turned debate into a partisan exercise. Speaking on Channels Television, Agbedi argued that denying members the chance to be heard on points of order fueled the rowdy disruptions witnessed in plenary.
“In the lawmaking process, the people have their opinion. The beauty of democracy is that the majority will have their way while the minority will have their say,” Agbedi stated. He claimed the discussion initially crossed party lines but became polarised when the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) allegedly directed its members to vote as a bloc. “When the majority party felt threatened, division was used,” he added, asserting that the final outcome defrauded both lawmakers and citizens.
His comments coincide with sustained protests by civil society groups and activists outside the National Assembly Complex. Demonstrators are demanding that the amendment bill explicitly mandate real-time electronic transmission of election results to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal. They are also calling for the passage of the Special Seats for Women Bill. Figures such as Omoyele Sowore, Oby Ezekwesili, Peter Obi, and Aisha Yesufu were seen at the protest, which saw heightened security and reports of tear gas deployment to disperse crowds.
Inside the chamber, tensions flared during clause-by-clause consideration. The Minority Caucus, led by Kingsley Chinda, protested the removal of the “real-time” transmission clause from the bill. Speaker Tajudeen Abbas presided over a heated voice vote, after which Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu took over chairmanship. Majority Leader Julius Ihonvbere subsequently moved a motion for a closed-door session to restore order.
The House eventually passed the harmonised Electoral Act 2026. The legislation retains provisions allowing manual collation of results where electronic transmission fails—a position the opposition warns could facilitate result manipulation. Agbedi insisted lawmakers must prioritise public confidence in the electoral system, cautioning that perceptions of exclusion could undermine trust in future elections. The final passage of the bill now moves to the Senate for concurrence.
