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The House of Representatives has approved 39 constitutional amendment bills for second reading, covering various sectors such as judicial reforms, electoral processes, security, governance, and legislative matters.
Among the proposed amendments is a bill seeking to establish both state and local government police forces. Another aims to synchronize general elections for the president, governors, National Assembly, state assemblies, and local government councils on a single date, as determined by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in consultation with the National Assembly.
Additionally, one of the bills proposes making the Court of Appeal the final authority on election petitions for governorship and legislative elections, eliminating the Supreme Court’s role in these matters. Another seeks to empower the Chief Justice of Nigeria to proclaim the inauguration of the National Assembly in specific circumstances.
Further proposed amendments include establishing a legislative assembly for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), reserving special legislative seats for persons with disabilities, and permitting public servants to engage in healthcare education and services beyond agriculture.
Other bills focus on strengthening political party regulation, ensuring that election petition appeals are resolved before winners are sworn in, granting INEC authority to conduct local government elections, and requiring lawmakers to officially resign from their political parties before defecting to another.
The House also considered a proposal to establish an independent National Local Government Electoral Commission to oversee council elections nationwide.
The bills advanced without debate and have been referred for further legislative review.
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