On Tuesday, the House of Representatives rejected a constitutional amendment bill that proposed rotating the offices of president and vice president among Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
Additionally, the House voted down six other constitutional alteration bills that were listed for consideration.
However, it decided to revisit these bills on Wednesday for individual consideration based on their merits.
Initially, the House suspended its rules to allow simultaneous consideration of the seven constitutional alteration bills, giving members the choice to debate any of them.
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However, the bill on rotating the presidency and vice presidency garnered the most attention during the debate, with many members expressing opposition and cautioning against establishing a potentially problematic precedent.
Deputy Minority Leader, Aliyu Madaki, spearheaded the opposition, arguing that the Federal Character Commission already addresses the issues the bill aimed to resolve.
He warned against enshrining rotation in the constitution, suggesting it should remain as it is.
Madaki contended that existing political parties already have mechanisms to ensure fair representation in the distribution of offices during each election cycle.
Sada Soli (APC, Katsina) described the proposed alteration as ingenious but questioned its potential impact on the quality of leadership. He emphasized that adopting the rotation principle would not serve the country’s best interests, as it could fuel regional and ethnic rivalry among the various zones.
Shina Oyedeji (PDP, Oyo) argued that including the rotational principle in the constitution would trigger fresh demands for fairness and justice from every state and tribe within the different zones.
He believed that all citizens should have an equal opportunity to aspire to the offices of President and Vice President, questioning how specific states within a zone would be chosen if zoning were adopted.
Bello Mohammed El-Rufai raised concerns about what would happen if a president died in office, referencing the death of former President Umaru Musa Yar’adua.
He argued that such a provision would also infringe on the rights of all Nigerians to contest for any office and suggested that even with rotation, mistrust among the people would persist.
He cautioned against setting a “dangerous precedent” in the Constitution, stating that cries of marginalization would always exist in Nigeria, regardless of such measures.
Olumide Osoba (APC, Ogun) stated that while the amendment might seem unique, it would be inappropriate to dictate to political parties where to select their candidates during elections.
However, Minority Whip, Ali Isa, advocated for allowing each of the six geopolitical zones a chance at the Presidency, extending this principle to the state level for the rotation of governorship among the three senatorial zones.
He argued that all zones have qualified individuals capable of leading the country and even the West African subregion, noting that the Federal Character principle already promotes fairness among all states.
He commended the Deputy Speaker for acknowledging the need for fairness, suggesting that the Presidency should go to the North East in 2027 for the sake of fairness and to allow all zones to produce a President.
Clement Jimbo (APC, Akwa Ibom) argued that the bill aimed to address the long-standing injustice faced by minority groups and proposed including a provision in the Constitution to end the rotation principle after all zones had their turn at the Presidency.
Ultimately, the bill on rotational presidency and the other Constitution Alteration bills failed to pass the second reading following a voice vote that was preceded by the debate among lawmakers.
The other rejected bills included: a bill to remove the power of registration and regulation of political parties from INEC and transfer it to the Office of the Registrar General of Political Parties; a bill to establish the Office of the State Auditors-General for Local Governments and the Federal Capital Territory Area Councils; and a bill to create Ughelli East Local Government Area in Delta State.
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