A bill aimed at barring individuals over the age of 60 from contesting presidential and governorship elections in Nigeria has passed its second reading in the House of Representatives on Thursday.
The bill, sponsored by Ikeagwuonu Ugochinyere, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from Imo State, seeks to amend Sections 131 and 177 of the Constitution to alter the qualifications for presidential, vice-presidential, governorship, and deputy governorship candidates.
Currently, Sections 131 and 177 state that a person is eligible to contest for president or governor if they have been educated to at least the school certificate level or its equivalent. The proposed amendment seeks to increase the educational requirement to a minimum of a university degree, specifically a Bachelor’s degree in any field.
Additionally, the bill proposes a new clause to restrict candidates for president or governor to those under the age of 60 at the time of election. If the bill becomes law, President Bola Tinubu, who will turn 73 on March 29, would be ineligible to seek re-election. Likewise, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, the former governor of Anambra State, both of whom ran in the 2023 presidential election, would also be disqualified from contesting in future elections as they are over 60 years old.
