By Chukwudi Obasi, Abuja
Yesterday, the House of Representatives threw out a constitutional amendment bill seeking to institutionalise the rotation of the President and Vice President’s offices among Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
Similarly, lawmakers voted against another proposed amendment to remove the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) powers to register and regulate political parties.
The bill proposed transferring such responsibilities to a newly created Office of the Registrar-General of Political Parties.
The bill, jointly sponsored by the Speaker of the House, Abbas Tajudeen, and Francis Waive, was presented for second reading, but suffered a setback after being subjected to a voice vote.
The session was presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, who ruled against the bill after the vote.
In the same plenary, another high-profile bill — also championed by Deputy Speaker Kalu — seeking to enshrine the principle of rotation for the presidency and vice presidency across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, was also rejected.
The proposed amendment intended to distribute the two highest offices in the land between the North-Central, North-East, North-West, South-East, South-South, and South-West zones in a rotational format.
The deputy minority leader, Aliyu Madaki, opposed the rotation bill, contending that the Federal Character Commission had already addressed the bill’s objectives.
He argued that the constitution should not be burdened with provisions on rotational presidency, noting that political parties already have internal frameworks for ensuring inclusive representation during elections.
Adding his voice to the opposition, Hon. Shina Oyedeji (PDP, Oyo) expressed concern that adopting zoning at the constitutional level could trigger agitations at the sub-regional and ethnic levels.
“If you adopt zoning, and it comes to the South-West, for example, which state will take the position? Is it Ogun or Oyo?” he queried, suggesting that zoning might provoke further tension rather than solve existing problems.
For Sada Soli (APC, Katsina), although the concept behind the proposed alteration seemed creative, it raised questions about merit and competence. He questioned whether prioritising rotational principles over quality leadership would be in the best interest of the country.
The House also rejected several other constitutional amendment bills presented during the session. One of such was HB. 2288, which sought to establish the Offices of State Auditors-General for Local Governments and the Federal Capital Territory Area Councils. The bill, sponsored by Hon. Julius Ihonvbere, aimed to strengthen fiscal transparency, accountability, and governance at the grassroots level.
Another proposal by Ihonvbere aimed to increase the number of judges in the Federal High Court to at least 100 or such other number as may be determined by an Act of the National Assembly.
Also from Ihonvbere was a bill proposing to expand the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court to cover admiralty matters, navigation, shipping on the River Niger and River Benue, federal ports, and carriage by sea.
In a separate effort to reform the judiciary, Ihonvbere presented a bill seeking to empower the National Judicial Council (NJC), working in tandem with the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, to determine and review the salaries, allowances, and emoluments of judicial officers and judiciary staff. This proposal, too, was rejected by the House.
Francis Waive also faced a setback with his bill proposing the creation of Ughelli East Local Government Area in Delta State, which failed to secure the support of the majority.
Though some lawmakers supported the various bills, a significant number opposed them. The nays carried the day when the bills were put to a voice vote.
Reacting to the wave of rejections, the Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business appealed to the Speaker, urging reconsideration of the decision and suggesting that the bills be considered on a case-by-case basis rather than bundled together.
However, Deputy Minority Leader, Ali Jesse, raised a point of order, citing Order 9, Rule 6, which stipulates that any previous vote can only be rescinded through a substantive motion filed on notice.
Speaker Abbas concurred with the point of order and instructed the Committee on Rules and Business to place a motion for rescission on the order paper for the next legislative sitting.
