President Muhammadu BuhariOlalekan Adetayo, Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday
signed a constitutional amendment that stops a Vice President who
completes the term of a President from contesting for the office of the
President more than one more time.The same is applicable to a deputy governor who completes the term of a state governor.The Senior Special Assistant to the
President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Ita Enang, disclosed
this to State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on
Friday.The term of a President or a governor
can be aborted by virtue of death, resignation or removal, thereby
paving the way for the Vice President or deputy governor to take over.According to Enang, the effect of the
new law, Act 16, is that having taken the oath of President or governor
once, the affected person can only contest one more time and no more.If the law had been in place, former
President Goodluck Jonathan who completed the tenure of late President
Umaru Yar’Adua after his death would not have qualified to contest the
2015 presidential elections having contested and won in 2011.It is not clear yet if the law has
foreclosed Jonathan’s possible re-election bid as it (the law) may be
said not to have retrospective effect.Enang said the President also signed an
amendment to the constitution that grants autonomy to state judiciary
and state Houses of Assembly.The presidential aide said the
implication of the new law was that funds meant for state judiciary and
state Houses of Assembly would now be going directly to them and not
through state governors again.According to Enang, the President also
signed an amendment that reduced the duration for determining
pre-election matters in courts to ensure that such matters do not get
into the time of the elections and do not linger thereafter.He added that another amendment
increased the time the Independent National Electoral Commission has to
conduct by-election in case of vacancy from the present seven days to 21
days.
Enang said, “I just want to inform you
that His Excellency President Muhammadu Buhari today (Friday) assented
to the Constitution Fourth Alteration Bill which grants financial
autonomy and independence to the Houses of Assembly of the respective
states and to the Judiciary of the respective states.
“Therefore, upon this signature, the
amounts standing to the credit of the judiciary are to now be paid
directly to the judiciary of those states and no more through the
governors and from the governors.
“And then the amounts standing to the
credit of the Houses of Assembly of the respective states are now to be
paid directly to the Houses of Assembly of that state for the benefit of
the legislators and the management of the state Houses of Assembly of
that state. This grants full autonomy now to the Houses of Assembly and
judiciary of states.
“Another Act which has come into force
today is Constitution Amendment 21 which relates to the determination of
pre-elections matters. It has reduced the date and time of determining
pre-election matters to ensure that the pre-election matters in court do
not get into the time of the elections and do not linger thereafter.
The relevant section of the Constitution has also been amended by this
Act, therefore amending the constitution.”
He further explained, “The other one is
Bill 16 which is now an Act. The intent of that Act is to ensure that
where a Vice President succeeds the President and where a deputy
governor succeeds a governor, he can no more contest for that office
more than one more time.
“The effect is that having taken the
oath of President once, he can only contest one more time and no more.
That is the intent of this amendment.
“The other amendment is Bill 9 now an
Act which gives the Independent National Electoral Commission sufficient
time to conduct by-election. It has increased the time from seven to 21
days and generally widens the latitude of the INEC to handle election
matters upon vacancy.
“These four bills, added to the
Not-Too-Young-To-Run Act, have now been assented to by the President and
have now become laws. The Constitution of Nigeria 1999 as amended is
hereby further amended by the assent of the President to these bills
today.”
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