Rep walks out of House of Representatives, accuses deputy speaker of discrimination

Cyril Hart, a member of the House of Representatives representing Degema/Bonny Federal Constituency in Rivers State, walked out of the green chamber on Tuesday, accusing the Deputy Speaker of discriminating against new members during parliamentary debates.

The incident occurred during a plenary session after the lawmaker representing Damboa/Gwoza/Chibok Federal Constituency in Borno State moved a motion condemning recent suicide bombings in the North-Eastern State.

The motion prompted debates from several lawmakers, including the Chairman of the House Committee on Navy, Idris Wase, and the Chairman of the Committee on Defence, Babajimi Benson, among others, who were recognized to speak by the Deputy Speaker, Kalu, who presided over the session in the absence of Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.

Most of the contributors were senior members of the legislative chamber. As Kalu was about to put the motion to a vote, Hart raised a point of order, expressing his frustration: “You do not give preference to first-timers. You don’t.” His intervention was met with applause from his colleagues.

“Virtually all those who spoke are ranking members. This is what you always do. You need to allow first-timers to make their contributions,” Hart continued.

In response, Kalu denied any discrimination in the parliament, stating, “There is no discrimination in the parliament. I was also a first-timer at a time.” He explained that lawmakers are often recognized to speak based on their sitting arrangement, and those not in their designated row may be overlooked.

Dissatisfied with the explanation, Hart staged a walkout from the chamber, voicing his complaints as he exited.