The House of Representatives on Tuesday witnessed a rowdy session as lawmakers clashed over a move to rescind and recommit the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2025, a step they say is aimed at protecting the credibility of the 2027 general elections.

Despite ongoing budget defence exercises, lawmakers suspended other legislative activities to deliberate on what they described as issues critical to the conduct of the next general elections.

Presiding over the session, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas praised members who travelled from outside Abuja to attend what he termed a crucial national engagement. He stressed that the sitting had a single agenda: the rescission and recommittal of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2025.
According to Abbas, revisiting the bill was urgent, as the decisions taken would “define the elections of 2027” and clarify expectations for Nigeria’s electoral process.

Leading the debate, Hon. Francis Waive, who moved the motion, recalled that the bill was passed in December 2025 but later reviewed by a technical committee made up of National Assembly leaders, members of the conference committee, clerks of both chambers and legal drafters. He said the review uncovered inconsistencies and unintended consequences in some provisions of the legislation.

Waive argued that correcting the anomalies was necessary to promote fairness, inclusivity, efficiency and public confidence in the electoral system ahead of 2027. He therefore urged the House to rescind its earlier decision and recommit the bill to the Committee of the Whole for fresh consideration.

The Chairman of the House Committee on Electoral Act, Adebayo Balogun, subsequently moved a second motion to formally recommit the bill.
Tension erupted when the Speaker put the question to a voice vote. Although shouts of “nay” appeared louder, the Speaker ruled in favour of the “yeas,” prompting protests from several lawmakers on the floor. The disagreement eventually forced Abbas to call for a closed-door session.

The development underscores growing political sensitivities around the 2027 general elections, as the House signals its determination to fine-tune Nigeria’s electoral laws to enhance transparency and credibility in the democratic process.