The House of Representatives plenary session became rowdy on Tuesday after members voted down several motions concerning urgent public matters, including the protection of lives and key government assets. The disorder, which occurred while Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu presided, forced the members to dissolve into a closed-door session to restore order.
The uproar began when Ademorin Kuye (APC, Somolu Federal Constituency, Lagos), who also chairs the House Committee on Public Assets, raised a motion requesting an investigation into the alleged illegal allocation of lands within the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex.
The session’s disorder centered on which committee should investigate the land allocation. Delta lawmaker and Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, Francis Waive, proposed an amendment. While agreeing the matter was urgent, Waive argued that the Committee on Commerce, not Public Assets, should be in charge of the probe.
Mark Esset (Akwa Ibom) supported this view, stating that the Committee on Commerce “should take responsibility on this matter.” Conversely, Yusuf Gagdi (Plateau State) backed the original motion’s sponsor, arguing the Public Assets Committee should be allowed to investigate the alleged illegal land sale and report back to the House.
Facing an escalating and seemingly endless argument, Gbefwi Gaza (SDP, Nasarawa) proposed a compromise, following advice from Deputy Speaker Kalu. Gaza suggested forming an Ad-hoc Committee composed of members from both the Public Assets and Commerce Committees to conduct the investigation.
However, when the proposal was put to a voice vote, the division remained clear: nearly an equal number of lawmakers voted both in support of and against the compromise motion, leading to a deadlock.
Unable to clearly determine the louder side in the tied voice vote, Deputy Speaker Kalu controversially ruled in favor of the “nays” (those against the Ad-hoc Committee), immediately sparking unrest and further chaos in the chamber. The session then moved to the next motion of urgent importance, presented by Mohammed Bio (Kwara State). Bio lamented the worsening security situation in his constituency and urged the House to direct the military to establish a base in the crisis areas to curb attacks.
To the surprise of both Bio and Kalu, this security motion was also overwhelmingly voted down. At that point, it became clear to Kalu that the members were purposefully acting to frustrate the day’s entire session in retaliation for the rejection of Kuye’s initial motion.
As lawmakers once again thundered opposition, this time against Ayodeji Alao-Akala’s motion—which sought to address the United States’ designation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern”—Deputy Speaker Kalu suddenly allowed the motion to pass.
This controversial decision immediately triggered open dissent among the members. Voices of opposition rent the chambers, forcing the Deputy Speaker to suspend the plenary for a closed-door session.
