Taibat Shittu/
The Nigerian Senate, on Wednesday, passed a bill which proposed 35 years as the minimum age for the office of the president from the initial 40 years mandated by the 1999 constitution.
The lawmakers also lowered the age limit to contest for the post of Governor or Senator to 30, from the initial 35, thus bowing to the demands of the ‘NotTooYoungToRun’ campaign.
The amendments formed part of the motions passed during debate on the proposed constitutional amendments, which had been earlier adopted by the joint session of the committees of both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
The Senate, same day, approved independent candidature for the country’s electoral process and also voted for a single term of office for the President and State Governors.
Before now, only political parties could sponsor candidates for elections. The development means candidates can now vie for elective positions without joining a political party.
The change in the name Nigeria Police Force to Nigerian Police and the separation of the Office of Attorney-General of the Federation and of State from the Office of Minister or Commissioner of Justice were approved by the senate.
The senators also scrapped State Independent Electoral Commission from the constitution.
The lawmakers, however, voted to reject a proposal to amend the 1999 Constitution to devolve more powers to the states.
The amendment had sought to move certain items to the concurrent legislative list to give more powers to the states.
Using electronic voting, 48 of 95 senators present voted against the proposal.
A lawmaker, Adamu Aliero, had faulted the proposal, on Tuesday, arguing it should not be passed without reviewing the revenue sharing formula to give more money to states.
Further, the senators rejected the bill that sought to alter the constitution to delete the Land Use Act.
Also rejected is the bill that sought to alter section 25 of the constitution, which guarantees the right of a married woman to choose her indigeneship by birth or by marriage for the purposes of appointment or election, as well as the bill which sought 35 percent affirmative action for women.
Similarly, the bill seeking to enhance clarity with respect to the procedure for state creation and boundary adjustment was rejected.
However, the senators approved alteration of sections 4, 51, 67, 68, 93 and 109 of the constitution to provide immunity for members of the legislature.
The immunity will be strictly in respect of words spoken or written at plenary or at committee proceedings.
The amendment also mandates the President to attend a joint session of the National Assembly once a year to deliver a state of the nation address.
Also, the bill seeking to alter sections 58, 59 and 100 of the constitution to resolve the impasse, where the President or Governor refuses to signify his/her assent to a bill or withhold such assent for timely passage of laws was approved.
Equally, the bill to amend the Third Schedule of the constitution to include former Presidents of the Senate and Speakers of the House of Representatives in the composition of the Council of State was approved.
Other approved by the senators include: The bill seeking to provide for time within which the President or Governor shall lay the Appropriation Bill before the National Assembly or House of Assembly for early passage.
The bill seeking to alter section 162 of the constitution to abrogate State Joint Local
Government Accounts and empower each Local Government Council to maintain its own special account.
The bill to strengthen local government administration by guaranteeing the democratic existence, funding, and tenure of local government councils.
The bill to set a time frame within which the President or Governor shall forward to the Senate or State Houses of Assembly, names of nominees for confirmation as ministers or commissioners.
The lawmakers approved the establishment of Investment and Securities Tribunal.
They also gave approval for the decree establishming the National Youth Service Corps should be deleted from the constitution so that it could be subjected to regular process of amendment.
The bill seeking to among other things, provide procedure for passing Constitution Alteration Bill where the President withholds assent was also approved.
In his remarks at the end of the voting, Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, commended the efforts of the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, who chaired the Constitution Review Committee and members of the committee.
He further noted: “This is an exercise that we gave a promise and we have kept to it.
“We have made history for this to happen; we have carried out the exercise not only on time, but also in the content. What we have done today definitely is to lay the foundation for far reaching reform of our political, economic and social development.
“We have by the amendments we have done today redefined our budget processes. We have addressed issues that have bogged us down for many years; we have addressed the issue of savings which has always been an issue in this country for many years.
“We have laid a new foundation and a new Nigeria that will be more committed to creating opportunities for the young people and place us properly in the global world.
“To be part of that history is a great honour for all of us and I want to thank you all for the effort.’’
For the new bills to become law, they require the endorsement of 24 state assemblies and President Muhamamdu Buhari’s assent.
The Senate’s approval is just one of the steps required to amend the constitution.
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