The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed through second reading, a Bill for an Act to alter the 1999 Constitution to change the educational qualification for election into certain political offices.
If passed into law, the proposed legislation will make it compulsory for persons seeking election into the office of the President, Governor, National and State Houses of Assembly to acquire a university degree or its equivalent.
The present educational qualification for elective positions enshrined in the 1999 Constitution is the School Certificate which include, the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and the National Examination Council Senior School Certificate Examination (NECO/SSCE).
Sponsored by Otunba Onanuga (APC, Ogun) the Bill seeks to review upward to a minimum of university degree, the required educational qualification of some elective offices within the country.
In a lead debate on the Bill, Onanuga said all the political offices affected by the proposed amendment are very strategic, hence the state legislators for instance are important for making laws to govern the state in the interest of the people while the office of the Governor is the highest political office in the State.
According to her, “the Federal legislators are important for making laws in the interest of the nation, the Office of the President is the highest political office in the land.
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“If a managing director who holds an equally strategic position in a company within this country, cannot be employed without a university degree or its equivalent, why should the above political offices be held by people without a university degree or its equivalent?”
“This is not a Bill targeted at stifling the interest of Nigerians in politics, rather it is a Bill that will help Nigerians to sufficiently prepare for the humongous task of political leadership.
“As we have begun to see, the race for elective offices at both State and national levels have become increasingly competitive. While this is good as a tenet of universal suffrage, it can also be counterproductive if people who are not sufficiently prepared educationally, get into these elective offices.
“We all know that after a university degree or its equivalent in this country, comes the compulsory National Youth Service Corp, without which it would be difficult to get into any employment especially within the Public Sector.
“Invariably, by leaving the qualification of these political offices to remain at School Certificate level, we are implying that the NYSC is not a requirement to hold political offices but it is a requirement to secure a job in the Public Sector,” the lawmaker stated.
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