The House of Representatives on Thursday passed for second reading a bill seeking to create the Office of the Prime Minister as Head of Government while designating the President as Head of State. The proposed legislation also outlines the election framework for both offices.
Sponsored by House Minority Leader Kingsley Chinda and 59 other lawmakers, the bill marks a significant step toward potential constitutional reforms in Nigeria’s governance structure.
Other Key Legislative Proposals
In addition to the Prime Minister bill, the House also considered several other reform-driven bills, including:
- Election Reforms for State and Local Governments – Proposes changes to how Governors, Deputy Governors, and Commissioners are elected or appointed, as well as the election process for Local Government Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen.
- Pre-Election Tribunal Bill – Seeks to shorten the timeline for resolving pre-election disputes and establish dedicated pre-election tribunals. This follows recent controversies, including the suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
- Presidential and Gubernatorial Election Majority Rule – Suggests modifying the electoral system to determine winners based on a new majority threshold.
- Summoning the President and Governors – Grants the National Assembly and State Assemblies authority to summon the President and Governors to answer questions on national security and other governance issues.
- Electoral Oversight Reform – Proposes transferring the power to register and regulate political parties from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to a newly established Office of the Registrar General of Political Parties.
- Appropriations Bill Timeline – Seeks to set clear deadlines for the presentation of the national budget.
Additionally, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu reminded lawmakers that March 31, 2025, is the deadline for submitting proposals for new state creation. So far, 30 new states have been proposed, though none have met the constitutional threshold.
All constitution-related bills will be forwarded to the Special Ad-hoc Committee on Constitution Review for further deliberation.
