Senate Passes Independent Candidacy Bill, Transmits to Buhari for Assent

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The Senate, yesterday, passed a bill seeking to provide for independent candidacy in presidential, governorship, national and state assembly, as well as local government elections. The upper chamber subsequently asked the Clerk to the National Assembly to transmit the bill to President Muhammadu Buhari for assent in line with the provisions of the Authentication Act.

The proposed legislation was the constitution alteration bill No. 58.

The Clerk was also directed to transmit to the president constitution amendment bill No. 46, which sought to include the presiding officers of the National Assembly in the membership of the National Security Council.

The two proposals were part of the constitution alteration bills transmitted to state Houses of Assembly for concurrence last year, but not part of the 35 that secured the required approval of 24 of 36 state assemblies.

Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, in a motion during yesterday’s plenary, informed his colleagues that Gombe State House of Assembly had approved the Constitution Alteration Bill Nos. 46 and 58 and forwarded its resolution to the National Assembly.

Omo-Agege, who is Chairman of the Senate adhoc Committee on Constitution Review, said with the approval of the Gombe State Assembly, the bills on the independent candidacy and inclusion of National Assembly presiding officers in the National Security Council membership had met the provisions of Section 9(2) of the Constitution for passage.

The Senate, after adopting the motion, directed the Clerk to the National Assembly to transmit the bills to the president for his assent.

The National Assembly had earlier transmitted 35 constitution alteration bills to the president for assent, out of which 19 were rejected and 16 were signed into law.

The National Assembly on May 2, 2023, approved a uniform retirement age for judicial officers after it met constitutional requirement.

The state assemblies that were yet to forward their resolutions on the constitution amendment bills included Jigawa, Kebbi, Kwara, Plateau and Taraba.

The bill provided that for any Nigerian national to contest the presidential election as an independent candidate, he or she must obtain the verified signatures of at least 20 per cent of registered voters from each state of the federation, provided that a registered voter shall not sign for more than one independent candidate in respect of the same office.

For governorship, the independent candidate must obtain the verified signatures of at least 20 per cent of registered voters from each of the local government areas of the state.

The bill also stated that anyone willing to contest National Assembly elections must obtain the verified signatures of at least 20 per cent of registered voters from each of the local government areas in the respective senatorial district or federal constituency.

The proposed legislation further empowered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to prescribe the payment of administrative fees by independent candidates for respective elections.

It equally mandated the electoral body to waive 50 per cent of the administrative fees for female candidates.