The Nigerian Constitution requires that emergency situations in any region of Nigeria concluded by the President must be supported by “the majority of two-thirds of all members of the National Assembly family.”
Two rooms in the Nigerian Parliament used audio voting to approve an emergency in the river, despite the constitutional provisions requiring a two-thirds majority vote by each meeting room for such approval.
Section 305 (6B) of the Nigerian Constitution mandates that the state of emergency in any region of Nigeria, promoted by the President, must be supported by “the majority of two-thirds of all members of the National Assembly.”
Therefore, many Nigerians wanted the Senate and House to adopt appropriate voting procedures, so Nigerians wanted to know the actual number of lawmakers who supported the president’s declaration and who they were, and whether the constitutional requirements were met.
“We cannot achieve a two-thirds majority in audio voting. Members who vote or oppose a resolution ratifying the president’s emergency action must identify themselves and vote individually,” Banker Atedo Peterside wrote in X.
This view was shared by many other Nigerians, including activist Dele Farotimi.
“It’s interesting that Uncle Atedo is raising this point. @senator_akpabio should not rely on audio voting in determining the 2/3 majority required by the Constitution. Votes must be clearly counted, numbers must be clearly determined. Audio voting is not sufficient.”
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However, two rooms in the parliament controlled by the APC, a member of the ruling party, ignored the phone.
On Thursday, both Chambers adopted an audio vote, with the chairman saying they had the required majority and therefore approved the president’s request.
The issue was not publicly discussed in the Senate. The Senate held a door session that was closed for about 80 minutes before the audio voting was held publicly.
None of the senators were asked to oppose the motion during the audio voting, Premium Times observed.
The Senate has 109 members and the House has 360 members.
River crisis
President Bora Tinubu has imposed an emergency on Rivers following a political conflict between Governor Siminali Fabara and his predecessor Naisom Week.
The president said the crisis is degenerating and is affecting state governance.
The Nigerian leader also suspended Hubara, his representative and member of the state legislature for six months while emergency regulations continued.
More details later…
