The House of Representatives has passed the Electoral Amendment Bill, moments after opposition lawmakers walked out of the heated session at the National Assembly chambers in Abuja on Friday.
Nigeria’s lower chamber passed the bill after a clause-by-clause consideration.
The house passed the majority of the 158 clauses of the bill intact including Clause 52 (2), which had led to controversy and debate.
The clause provides that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) shall determine the mode of voting/transmission of election results.
The retained Clause 52 (2) reads, “Voting at election and transmission of results in this Bill shall be in accordance with the procedure determined by the Commission.”
Attempts by some lawmakers to amend the clause were the cause of heated debate and rowdiness during plenary on Thursday.
On Friday, the situation was no different as the debate over the clause resulted in opposition lawmakers majorly from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) walking out of the session as they insisted that the clause was never carried.