The House of Representatives on Thursday passed through a second reading a bill for an Act to provide for the Office of the Prime Minister as Head of Government and the Office of President as Head of State and to provide for a framework for the mode of election to the said Offices and for related matters.
The bill sponsored by the House Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda and 59 others, seeks to return Nigeria to a parliamentary democracy.
In 2024, the 60 lawmakers drawn from different political parties made case for a return to parliamentary system of government, citing the cost of the presidential model.
They subsequently visited notable figures including the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Sa’ad Abubakar III, former Vice Chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Prof Ango Abdullahi, among others, to drum support for the initiative.
They also argued that Nigeria recorded her most productive era in the First Republic when it operated a parliamentary system of government
Meanwhile, the legislators are also clamouring for support for a bill seeking to review the mode of electing State Governors, Deputy Governors, and the appointment of the Commissioners of States and for related matters; as well as a bill which seeks to review the means of election into the offices of the Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of the Local Government Councils in Nigeria and for related matters.
Also gazetted for consideration is a bill seeking to reduce the lengthy period for the determination of pre-election petition matters and provide for the establishment of pre-election Tribunals for pre-election matters and regulate the process of suspending an elected member of the National Assembly from legislative duties
This is coming against the backdrop of the recent six-month suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan for alleged gross misconduct, following a heated exchange between the Kogi lawmaker and the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, at a plenary session.
A bill seeking to provide for a change of simple majority in elections of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the State Governors and for related matters also passed a second reading.
Another proposed legislation which passed a second reading on Thursday is a bill seeking to grant to the two Chambers of the National Assembly and States’ Houses of Assembly powers to summon the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Governors of States respectively to answer questions on issues of national security or any matters whatsoever, over which the National Assembly and States’ Houses of Assembly, have powers to make laws and for related matters.
Others include a bill seeking to remove from the Independent National Electoral Commission the powers of registration and regulation of political parties in Nigeria and transfer same to the Office of the Registrar General of Political Parties and for related matters.
The House also passed for second reading a bill seeking to set timelines for the presentation of the Appropriations Bill and for related matters.
The Deputy Speaker, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, had on Tuesday notified all the members who sponsored bills on State creation of the March 31, 2025, deadline to submit their request in line with the provisions of the law.
A total of 30 new states are proposed for creation, with none of them meeting the constitutional threshold.
In line with legislative practice, all constitution amendment-related legislations are to be transmitted to the Special Ad-hoc Committee on Constitution Review, chaired by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, for further input
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