Thirty-nine constitutional amendment bills have successfully passed the second reading stage in the House of Representatives, covering various sectors such as judicial reforms, electoral matters, security, and policing, inclusive governance, legislature, and more.
Some notable proposals include:
– Establishment of State and Local Government Police: A bill to amend the Constitution to provide for state police and local government police.
– Simultaneous Elections: A bill to amend the Constitution to conduct general elections for the president, state governors, National Assembly, state Houses of Assembly, and local government area councils on the same date.
– Court of Appeal as Final Appeal Court: A bill to make the Court of Appeal the final appeal court for governorship, national, and state Houses of Assembly election petitions.
– Proclamation on National Assembly Inauguration: A bill to empower the Chief Justice of Nigeria to make proclamations on the inauguration of the National Assembly.
– FCT House of Assembly Establishment: A bill to establish the FCT House of Assembly.
– Special Seats for Physically Challenged Persons: A bill to provide special seats for physically challenged persons in federal, state, and local government areas, and legislative houses.
– Public Servants’ Engagement in Healthcare: A bill to permit public servants to engage in healthcare education, production, and services beyond farming and related matters.
– Political Parties Registration Commission: A bill to establish and empower the political parties registration and regulatory commission.
– Determination of Election Appeals: A bill to provide for the determination of all appeals arising from election petition tribunals before the swearing-in of elected officials.
– INEC’s Power to Conduct Local Government Elections: A bill to vest INEC with the power to conduct local government area council elections.
– Resignation from Political Party Before Defection: A bill to require official resignation from a political party before defection by members of the national assembly and state house of assembly.
– National Local Government Electoral Commission: A bill to establish the national local government electoral commission as an independent body responsible for organizing, conducting, and supervising elections into local government offices.
These bills aim to introduce significant changes to Nigeria’s Constitution, but they have not yet been debated ¹.