Bill increasing minimum education qualification for Nigeria’s President, other elective offices passes second reading.
Written by News Room on February 9, 2022
A bill seeking to increase the minimum education qualification for Nigeria’s President and other elective offices has passed the second reading at the House of Representatives.
Representative Adewunmi Onanuga (APC, Ogun) had sponsored the bill which hopes to amend the 1999 Constitution and raise the qualification from school certificate to degree or its equivalent.
The bill seeks to amend Sections 65, 106, 131 and 171 of the 1999 Constitution. The bill was read for the second time without any debate.
In leading the debate on the bill, Onanuga said the School Certificate is not sufficient to rule the country. According to her, it was curious that to qualify for employment as senior cadres in Nigerian civil service, an applicant must be a holder of the National Youth Service Corps certificate, noting that the applicant must already be a graduate, as only graduates went for NYSC deployment.
Honourable Onanuga said it was strange that a person seeking to lead the whole country, including the graduate, was required to possess only a Senior Secondary School Certificate or its equivalent.
Ango Bally
