A bill that seeks to raise the academic qualification for office of the president and governors to Higher National Diploma or its equivalent has scaled through to second reading on Thursday.
Sponsored by Isfifanus Gyang, an opposition PDP legislator from Plateau State, the bill is also recommending National Diploma or its equivalent as the minimum qualification for federal and state lawmakers.
Gyang’s bill, specifically, is seeking an amendment to Section 131 (chapter VI) of the Constitution which states that a person may be qualified for election into the office of the president if among others things, “they have been educated up to at least school certificate level or its equivalent”.
The Section is now rephrased to read, “He has been educated up to at least HND level or’ its equivalent.”
Tied to this, the existing law says that anyone aspiring to be a member of the House of Assembly must have “been educated up to at least the School Certificate level or its equivalent”.
But the requirement contained in Section106 (c) is now rephrased to read, “If he has been educated up to National diploma level or its equivalent.”
The bill is further seeking an alteration of section 177 (d) of the Constitution for governors which currently states that the person must have “been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent”.
Section 177 (d) is now rephrased to read, “If he has been educated up to at least Higher National Diploma Level or its equivalent.”
The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, referred the bill to the Committee on Constitution Review after the senators passed the proposed amendment for second reading.
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