A heated disagreement over which committee should investigate alleged irregularities in the management of the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex threw the House of Representatives into a rowdy session on Tuesday.

The rowdy session forced lawmakers to go into an executive meeting to calm nerves.

The disagreement, which stemmed from three separate motions of urgent public importance, reached a boiling point when members clashed over the appropriate committee to probe the alleged illegal allocation and sale of federal assets at the Trade Fair Complex in Lagos.

The motion, moved by Hon. Ademorin Kuye (APC, Lagos), sought a directive for the Committee on Public Assets to conduct an investigation into the matter.

However, his proposal immediately met stiff opposition from the Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, Hon. Francis Waive, who raised a point of order, arguing that the investigation falls within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Commerce.

Waive’s intervention caused a prolonged and heated debate that divided the chamber.

Several lawmakers rose to defend their positions, citing provisions of the House Standing Orders to justify their arguments.

Hon. Yusuf Gagdi (APC, Plateau) supported Kuye, arguing that “Order 109 of the House Rules clearly assigns the management and disposal of government properties to the Committee on Public Assets.”

According to him, since the Lagos Trade Fair Complex is federal property, it naturally falls under that committee’s oversight.

But Hon. Mark Esset (PDP, Akwa Ibom) countered, stressing that trade fairs are commercial entities, not public assets being disposed of, and therefore belong under the purview of the Committee on Commerce.

“The House Rules on page 153 list trade fairs among matters handled by the Committee on Commerce. We cannot assign what belongs to Commerce to Public Assets,” he said.

As the debate dragged on, some members, including Hon. Ali Isa J.C. (PDP, Gombe) and Hon. Gaza Jonathan Gbefwi (SDP, Nasarawa), suggested forming a joint committee involving both Public Assets and Commerce to lead the inquiry.

While the proposal appeared to strike a middle ground, it failed to receive enough support.

The exchanges soon degenerated into shouting matches, with lawmakers engaging in side discussions that disrupted proceedings.

Attempts by the Minority Whip and Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, who presided, to restore order were unsuccessful, as the noise level in the chamber rose sharply.

With tempers flaring and proceedings slipping out of control, Kalu called for an executive (closed-door) session at to allow members to resolve their differences privately.

Before the session was called, some lawmakers had argued that the controversy was needless, noting that both committees could work collaboratively since the investigation borders on both ownership and commercial usage of federal assets.

Kalu later clarified that the investigation was primarily about the allocation of the premises where trade fair activities take place, not the commercial activities themselves, suggesting that a balanced approach would be adopted to reflect both mandates.

The disagreement over the Trade Fair Complex motion came amid two other motions of urgent public importance, one on the resurgence of attacks in parts of Kwara State and another on the mass failure of candidates preparing for the 2026 WAEC examinations, both of which were stepped down after heated exchanges.