It was a dramatic scene at the House of Representatives on Tuesday as the plenary session descended into chaos following the rejection of several motions of urgent public importance.
Presided over by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, the rowdy session forced lawmakers into a closed-door meeting after heated exchanges broke out across party lines.
The uproar began when Ademorin Kuye, representing Somolu Federal Constituency of Lagos State, raised a motion alleging illegal land allocations within the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex. Kuye, who chairs the Committee on Public Assets, sought an investigation into the matter by his committee.
However, his proposal sparked disagreement after Francis Waive, Chairman of the Committee on Rules and Business, moved an amendment suggesting that the Committee on Commerce was better positioned to handle the issue. Waive’s position gained support from Mark Esset (Akwa Ibom), while Yusuf Gagdi (Plateau) opposed the amendment, backing Kuye’s call for the Public Assets Committee to lead the probe.
Amid the standoff, Gbefwi Gaza (Nasarawa) proposed, with Kalu’s consent, that both committees form an ad-hoc panel to investigate the matter jointly. But when the motion was put to a voice vote, Kalu ruled in favour of the nays, prompting loud protests from lawmakers who disagreed with the outcome.
The situation worsened when another motion by Mohammed Bio (Kwara) seeking the establishment of a military base in his crisis-prone constituency was also rejected by the majority.
By then, tempers had flared, with members accusing the leadership of bias and deliberate attempts to frustrate proceedings.
Matters reached a boiling point when a motion by Ayodeji Alao-Akala (Oyo) on the United States’ designation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” was approved by Kalu despite resistance from the floor — triggering a fresh wave of dissent.
Unable to contain the shouting match that followed, Kalu abruptly suspended plenary and called for a closed-door session to restore calm.
