2 weeks Ago By Philip Nyam
Barring any last-minute changes, the House of Representatives may rescind its resolution to pass through second reading a bill seeking to bar individuals above 60 years from contesting for the offices of President and Governor in Nigeria. The bill, sponsored by Ikeagwuonu Ugochinyere of the People’s Democractic Party (PDP), was passed penultimate on Thursday and is titled “An Act to alter the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (with alteration) in order to review the requirements that qualify a person to be elected as President, Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Governor, and Deputy Governor of a state of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and for related matters.” Ugochinyere is seeking the amendment of Section 131 by altering paragraph (d) of the section to read: “A person shall be qualified for election to the office of President if (d) he has been educated up to at least university level and has earned a bachelor’s degree in his chosen field of study.
“Section 131 (e) he is not more than sixty (60) years at the time of vying for the office of President.” The same requirements apply for governorship and deputy governorship candidates as prescribed in the amendment of Section 177. Ugochinyere, who is chairman of the House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), is also the spokesperson of the Opposition Coalition in the 10th House.
The bill, if passed and signed into law, would make President Bola Tinubu, who will be 75 years old by 2027; former Vice President and presidential candidate of the PDP in the 2023 elections, Atiku Abubakar, who will be 81; and 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, who will be 66, ineligible to recontest in the next general elections. Also, former Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister and immediate past Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, who recently dumped the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and moved to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) with the aim of galvanizing the opposition to unseat President Tinubu in 2027, would also not be eligible under the bill. El-Rufai, who will be 67 by February 2027, is also said to be warming up for the presidential election under the canopy of his new political platform.
A member of the House exclusively confided in the New Telegraph that efforts are being made to drop the bill, as it is believed to set the leadership of the lower chamber and the Presidency on a collision course. One of the Lawmakers, who disclosed this to New Telegraph in Abuja, said: “I want to tell you reliably that those who think that bill will scale through the House are living in a world of fantasy. There are ongoing efforts to ensure that the bill is dropped.
It is not going anywhere. “As I speak with you, honourable members are being reached and lobbied on the need to step down the bill. “We understand Mr.
President is not happy that such a ‘toxic’ bill could be allowed to pass in a House controlled by his men. “So, just like the removal of immunity for the vice president, governors, and deputy governors’ bill was jettisoned, the age and qualification bill will suffer the same fate.” Speaking further, the Lawmaker noted: “Just watch out, as soon as we come back from the Sallah and Easter break, you will hear that the bill has been withdrawn for more consultation.
“And I think it was also a mistake on the part of the Deputy Speaker, who presided over the session that day. Did he really believe that President Tinubu would sign into law a bill that would ban him from recontesting elections in 2027? This is Africa and Nigeria, for that matter! It is simply not possible!” Recall that the House of Representatives had rescinded its decision to pass through second reading a bill that sought to strip the Vice President, governors, and deputy governors of immunity just 24 hours after it was endorsed, citing the need for further debate. Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, who presided over the plenary session, said the decision on the bill was to enable the House to conduct a more robust debate by the Lawmakers.
“We want to apologise to the sponsors of the bills, but this action is to enable the House to have a further debate considering the importance of the subject matters,” Kalu had said. The proposed legislation, titled “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to Qualify the Immunity Conferred on the President, Remove the Immunity Conferred on the Vice President, the Governors, and their Deputies, in Order to Curb Corruption, Eradicate Impunity, and Enhance Accountability in Public Office and for Related Matters (HB.1664),” was sponsored by Solomon Bob (PDP, Rivers).
The Lawmakers passed the resolution in response to a motion sponsored by the Majority Leader, Julius Ihonvbere of the All Progressives Congress..
