Despite the Nigerian constitution requiring a two-thirds majority vote in each chamber of parliament to approve a presidential state of emergency declaration, both the Senate and the House of Representatives used voice votes to approve President Tinubu’s decision for Rivers State.
This deviates from the constitutional mandate outlined in Section 305 (6b).
Consequently, the public cannot ascertain the precise number of lawmakers who supported the declaration, their identities, or whether the constitutional threshold was met.
“A two-thirds majority cannot be achieved via a voice vote. Members voting for or against the resolution to ratify the President’s emergency actions must identify themselves and cast their votes individually,” banker Atedo Peterside wrote on X.
Read Also: Senate Approves Emergency Rule In Rivers
The view was shared by many other Nigerians including activist Dele Farotimi.
“It is interesting that Uncle Atedo is raising this point. @Senator_Akpabio must not resort to a voice vote in determining the 2/3 majority demanded by the Constitution. The vote must be clearly counted, and the numbers clearly determined. A voice vote will not suffice,” Mr Farotimi wrote.
Despite public expectations, the APC-dominated National Assembly approved President Tinubu’s Rivers State state of emergency declaration using voice votes, bypassing the constitutionally required two-thirds majority.
Read Also: House Of Reps Vote Overwhelmingly In Support Of Emergency Rule In Rivers
Both chambers’ presiding officers declared the motion passed based on the voice votes.
The Senate held a closed-door session for approximately 80 minutes before conducting its public voice vote, during which no senator voiced opposition.
The Senate has 109 members, and the House of Representatives has 360.
President Tinubu declared the state of emergency due to a political conflict between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, citing its detrimental impact on governance.
He also suspended Governor Fubara, his deputy, and the state legislature for six months.
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