President Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) has assented to a bill requiring the President‑elect and governors‑elect to submit the names of their nominated ministers or commissioners within 60 days of taking the oath of office for confirmation by the Senate or State House of Assembly. He also signed the State Houses of Assembly Financial and State Judiciary autonomy bills, along with 14 other constitutional amendment bills and three additional statutes. According to the Presidency, these actions further the provisions of Section 58(4) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Babajide Omoworare, announced the approvals in a statement on Friday.
The assented constitutional alteration bills aim to ensure the financial independence of State Houses of Assembly and State Judiciaries, regulate the first session and inauguration of members‑elect of the National and State Houses of Assembly, and address related matters. They also require the President and governors to submit ministerial and commissioner nominations within the stipulated 60‑day period for legislative confirmation. Additional provisions enable states to generate, transmit, and distribute electricity within areas covered by the national grid, exclude intervening events from the time computation for pre‑election petitions, change prisons to correctional services and place correctional services on the concurrent list, and move “railway” from the exclusive legislative list to the concurrent list.
Beyond the constitutional amendments, the President also assented to three other bills: the Nigerian Institute of Leather and Science Technology Act, the Nigerian Institute of International Relations Act, and the Federal Medical Centres (Amendment) Act.
Comments are closed for this story.