Africa-Press – Nigeria. The 2023 Nigerian House of Representatives elections will hold on 25 February 2023 where voters will elect members of the House of Representatives using first-past-the-post voting in all 360 federal constituencies.The last regular House elections for all districts were in 2019.
Other federal elections, including the Senate elections and the presidential election, will also be held on the same date while state elections will be held two weeks afterwards on 11 March. The winners of these House elections will serve beginning in the 10th Nigerian National Assembly. The APC have held a majority in the House of Representatives since the 2015 elections and solidified that majority in 2019.
After the 2015–2019 House of Representatives term led by Speaker Yakubu Dogara (Peoples Democratic Party) and with a slight All Progressives Congress majority, the 2019 elections were categorized by a large shift back towards the APC. As in the Senate, the APC solidified its majority after nearly losing it due to defections in 2018.
At the opening of the 9th Nigeria National Assembly, Femi Gbajabiamila (APC-Surulere I) was elected as Speaker and Ahmed Idris Wase (APC-Wase) became Deputy Speaker as the party avoided the internal struggles that led Dogara and Yusuf Sulaimon Lasun to take those offices in 2015. On the other hand, the emergence of PDP leadership was immensely contentious as the party nominated Kingsley Chinda (PDP-Obio/Akpor) to become the House Minority Leader but Gbajabiamila named Ndudi Elumelu (PDP-Aniocha/Oshimili) to the position; the dispute over Elumelu’s leadership lasted nearly two years.During the first half of the 2019–2023 term, the APC expanded its majority through the defections of over a dozen MHRs but in the second half of the term, both major parties were hit by several defections to the other side and to minor parties as party primaries for 2023 neared. The defections to minor parties even lead to speculation on the possibility of no party gaining a majority in 2023.
From the perspective of the APC, analysts viewed the 9th House as a stark change from the legislature versus executive disputes that were commonplace during the 8th House but critics mocked the body as a rubber stamp that practically acted as an arm of the executive branch. In terms of specific major bills, the House was noted for passing the Sexual Harassment Bill in July 2020, the Finance Bill 2020 in December 2020, the Petroleum Industry Bill in July 2021, a new Electoral Act in January 2022, dozens of constitutional amendments in March 2022, and an Electoral Act amendment in May 2022. On the other hand, it was criticized for voting down constitutional amendments for mandating women inclusion in government and diaspora voting along with the continuous refusal to address gender equality and rampant misappropriation of public funds.
In total, 46 members of the House of Representatives—including one A member, one ADP member, 16 APC members, two APGA members, three LP members, 22 PDP members, and one SDP member—opted not to run for re-election, 36 of whom are seeking another office.
Two seats will be vacant on the day of the election due to deaths, none of which will be filled until the next House.
From primary elections
Eleven members of the House of Representatives withdrew from primary elections. However, nine of the members later decamped from their original party with eight winning the nomination of their new party with one member’s current status unknown
In primary elections
In total, 64 members of the House of Representatives—including 45 APC members and 19 PDP members—lost in primary elections.[a] After the primary defeats, 17 of the members defected to new parties with ten members then winning the House nomination of the new party. Another three of the members defected to new parties then won the nomination of the new party for a different office.
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