On Thursday, March 27, Nigerian lawmakers took a major step toward creating a new political structure by passing a bill to set up the Office of Prime Minister, which would be the head of government, and the Office of President, which would be the head of state.
The bill also proposes a plan for how these positions would be elected.
This bill was one of 32 proposed changes to the Nigerian Constitution that passed second reading in the House of Representatives on Thursday. These changes aim to reshape the country’s political landscape.
One of the other bills would change the Constitution to give women specific seats in both the National Assembly and state houses of assembly, promoting gender equality in government.
Another bill seeks to speed up the decision-making process for pre-election petitions and create special courts, called pre-election tribunals, to handle election disputes. It also looks at how lawmakers can be temporarily suspended from their duties.
There’s also a bill to update the rules for who can run for President, Vice-President, governors, and deputy governors, potentially making it easier for certain candidates to qualify.
In addition, lawmakers discussed a bill about how the Federal Capital Territory should be involved in Presidential elections and bills proposing the creation of two new states, Wan State and Gobir State.
In total, 113 constitutional amendment bills have passed their second reading so far, making this a huge step in changing the way Nigeria is governed.
