A federal lawmaker, Dawodu Bashiru, has defended the decision of the Nigerian House of Representatives to approve President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State using a voice vote.
The declaration, which also included the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and all elected officials in the state, has been met with widespread criticism. Many Nigerians and political stakeholders have called on the National Assembly to reject the move or, at the very least, ensure that due process is strictly followed in voting for its approval.
However, despite the public outcry, the House of Representatives proceeded with the approval, conducting the vote through a voice vote rather than an electronic or recorded ballot. This decision has sparked further controversy over the handling of the crisis in the oil-rich state.
Dawodu, who represents Oshodi/Isolo Federal Constituency of Lagos State in the House of Representatives, dismissed concerns over the method of voting, insisting that the House has the constitutional authority to determine its procedures.
“The point that I’m making is that it’s also constitutional that the House is going to determine the way it operates on an everyday basis,” he said while speaking on Channels Television’s *Sunday Politics*. “That is the law.”
He further argued that while electronic voting is used for some decisions, the House is not mandated to apply the same method in every case.
“Well, it depends on what we’re doing in terms of the rule. I’ll give you an example. When you look at the last time, we also had electronic voting when we were going to elect the speaker [Femi Gbajabiamila].
“It’s different from what happened this time when we’re going to elect the speaker [Tajudeen Abbas]. So the rules are different,” he explained.
“I think every day in our practice, we do voice voting. I don’t think this particular situation is different.”
