The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed for a second reading a bill seeking to reduce the minimum age for contesting governorship and senate seats from 35 to 30 years.
The proposed legislation, titled “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) to Reduce the Age for Qualification for Membership of the Senate and Office of the Governor and for Related Matters (HB. 2235),” was sponsored by Esin Etim and 24 other lawmakers.
Currently, the constitution sets 35 as the minimum age for candidates to the senate and governorship, while House of Representatives candidates may run from age 25.
Etim, representing Offong/Oruko/Udung Uko federal constituency in Akwa Ibom State, argued that the current age threshold restricts the political progression of young Nigerians.
“If a member of this house at 25 spends two terms, they will be 33 years old and still not eligible for the senate or governorship,” he said.
The bill proposes reducing the minimum age to 30 for the senate and governorship, maintaining a five-year gap between eligibility for the House and higher offices.
Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, put the bill to a voice vote without debate, and most lawmakers supported its second reading.
The bill was then referred to the House Committee on Constitution Review for further legislative action.