A trending video has shown members of the House of Representatives taking photo shots of their ballot papers during the election of their Speaker for the 9th legislative session.
The election was held on June 11, 2019 after the proclamation of the House by the Clerk of the National Assembly, Mohammed Sani-Omolori, based on a letter by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The election was between Umar Bago (APC-Niger) and Femi Gbajabiamila (APC-Lagos), who eventually emerged as the Speaker.
Before the election of the leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives, held on the same day, there had been allegations of financial inducement.
The federal legislators were said to have been promised $30,000 each for voting for particular candidates in both chambers.
The spokesman of the 8th House of Representatives, Abdulrazaq Namdas, said before the election that he had also heard of the news about the inducement.
Namdas, however, said legislators will vote according to their conscience.
But with the open snapping of their ballot papers, many Nigerians feel that the election in the House of Representatives was induced.
Indeed, some Members displayed their ballot papers openly after voting to show who they voted for before folding it and dropping in the ballot box.
This went on unabated despite the warning by Sani-Omolori that the ballot was being compromised.
At some point, Sani-Omolori had to stop the voting, telling the lawmakers that the Management of the National Assembly had done its best to protect the integrity of the ballot but it was now left to the lawmakers to decide what to do.
This elicited a round of applause from some of the lawmakers.
Sani-Omolori also intermittently announced that it was against the law for the lawmakers to take photo shots of their ballot papers with their cell phones.
But this did not stop the practice as it prevailed till the end.
Gbajabiamila scored 281 votes to 76 polled by Bago to emerge the Speaker of the 9th House of Representatives.
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