THE HOUSE of Representatives was thrown into chaos on Tuesday as lawmakers clashed over a motion seeking to reconsider the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2025.

Francis Waive, Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, moved to withdraw the bill passed on December 23, 2025, citing the need to address irregularities in the electoral system before the 2027 general elections.

Even with the ‘nays’ exercising dominance over the voice vote, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas ruled in favorr of the ‘ayes’, leading to protests from lawmakers. The session was eventually moved to an executive session, in the face of opposition from some members.

The controversy centres on the real-time transmission of election results to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Result Viewing Portal (IReV). The House had accepted this proposal, but the Senate initially rejected it. However, the Senate later withdrew its decision and approved electronic transmission with a fallback to manual collation if technology fails.

“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,” the approved clause states.

A conference committee has been established to align the differences between the House and Senate versions. Civil society organisations are urging the National Assembly to adopt the House’s version on result transmission.

The National Assembly has assured INEC of its support for the 2027 general elections, with Senator Simon Lalong and Representative Bayo Balogun cautioning INEC against making unachievable promises.

“IReV was not even in the Electoral Act; it was only in INEC regulations. So, be careful how you make promises,” Balogun advised.

THE ICIR reported that the Senate President Godswill Akpabio issued the directive in a memo signed by the Clerk of the Senate, Emmanuel Odo, dated February 8, and circulated to senators, announcing the emergency sitting without stating the reason for the emergency plenary.

Although the amendment introduced several changes to the law, public debate has centred largely on one contentious provision: the rejection of mandatory electronic transmission of election results from polling units to INEC’s Result Viewing Portal (IREV).

However, many political parties, politicians and civil society actors have criticised the clause and called on lawmakers to reverse it, as some advocacy groups have also threatened mass action. A coalition operating under the banner Enough is Enough has begun mobilising supporters for a protest at the National Assembly, using the hashtag #OccupyNASS.