The plenary session of the House of Representatives on Tuesday turned chaotic after lawmakers voted against several motions of urgent public importance relating to the protection of lives and critical government assets.
Presided over by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, the sitting became increasingly tense, eventually forcing the House into a closed-door session to restore order.
The row began when Hon. Ademorin Kuye (APC, Lagos), representing Somolu Federal Constituency, raised a motion on the alleged illegal allocation of Federal Government lands within the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex. Kuye, who also chairs the House Committee on Public Assets, urged the House to mandate his committee to investigate the matter.
However, Hon. Francis Waive (APC, Delta), Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, proposed an amendment, arguing that the Committee on Commerce—not Public Assets—should handle the probe since the issue falls under its jurisdiction.
Waive’s position was supported by Hon. Mark Esset (PDP, Akwa Ibom), who maintained that “it is the Committee on Commerce that should take responsibility for this matter.”
Opposing the amendment, Hon. Yusuf Gagdi (APC, Plateau) backed Kuye, insisting that the Public Assets Committee was the appropriate body to investigate allegations of illegal land sales at the Trade Fair Complex.
As the debate dragged on, Hon. Gbefwi Gaza (SDP, Nasarawa), on the advice of the presiding Deputy Speaker, proposed a compromise—constituting an ad hoc committee comprising members from both the Commerce and Public Assets Committees to jointly conduct the investigation.
When the proposal was put to a voice vote, the chamber appeared evenly divided. Unable to determine the louder side, Kalu ruled in favour of the nays, a decision that immediately triggered uproar and protests from several lawmakers.
The tension deepened when Hon. Mohammed Bio (APC, Kwara), representing Baruten/Kaima Federal Constituency, moved the next motion seeking military intervention and the establishment of a base in crisis-prone areas of his constituency. Despite the urgency, the motion was again voted down, to the surprise of both Bio and the Deputy Speaker.
It soon became apparent that the chamber’s unrest was linked to dissatisfaction over the earlier rejection of Kuye’s motion, with many members reportedly determined to frustrate further proceedings.
When Hon. Ayodeji Alao-Akala (APC, Oyo) later presented a motion calling attention to Nigeria’s designation as a “Country of Particular Concern” by the United States government, Kalu ruled in its favour. However, the decision was met with open dissent, as lawmakers shouted in protest.
The uproar forced the Deputy Speaker to suspend plenary and call for an executive (closed-door) session to calm frayed nerves.
