2011, Nigerian Presidents And Governors Must Have A Degree

THE Senate and the House of Representatives, on Thursday, respectively endorsed the Constitution Amendment Report by the (House) Committee on Constitution Review and passed into law, the electoral reform aspect of the constitution amendment bill.


The approved report also indicated that to become president, vice-president, governor, deputy governor and member of the National Assembly, candidates must possess a degree from a recognised tertiary institution, just as it also indicated that a member of the National Assembly who had served before could contest, even without being a graduate.

An executive summary of the report, which was made available to the Nigerian Tribune, indicated that sections 65, 106, 131 and 171 of the 1999 Constitution was amended to accommodate independent candidacy.

Also, sections 68, 109, 135 and 180 of the constitution was amended to deal with defection, thus making a defector to automatically lose his seat.

According to the amended sections, where a person elected on the ticket of a political party decided to join another political party without evidence of a merger or factions in his former political party, he would vacate his seat.

Odili.net