The move by the House of Representatives to strip vice president, governors and their deputies of their immunity while sparing the president, has sparked debates among stakeholders who have faulted the logic of the proposed legislation by the Green Chamber.

The stakeholders including political scientists, civil rights activists and politicians, while speaking on the proposed amendments argued that both the president and the vice president are usually elected on a joint ticket, hence, should enjoy the same privilege.

Among those who spoke is a senior lecturer in the Department of Political Science,  Bayero University, Kano, Dr Aminu Hayatu and a human rights activist cum former Kaduna senator, Shehu Sani.

According to them, what is good for the president is also good for the vice president, hence, any proposal to remove immunity must affect both the president and the vice president.

Daily Trust reports that the House of Representatives yesterday passed for second reading, a bill seeking to amend the constitution to strip the vice president, governors and deputy governors of immunity.

The bill was among the 42 considered and passed through second reading during Wednesday’s plenary session, presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Okezie Kalu.

The House had on Tuesday passed 39 constitution amendment bills for second reading and referred to the House Committee on Constitution Review for further legislative actions. The accelerated passage of 42 more bills yesterday increased the number of constitution amendment bills passed for second reading to 81.

Sponsored by Rep. Solomon Bob (Rivers PDP), the bill is seeking an amendment of Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution to guard against abuse of office and to ensure transparency in governance.

The long title of the proposed legislation reads, “A Bill for an Act to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to qualify the immunity conferred on the President, remove the immunity conferred on the Vice President, the Governors and their deputies, in order to curb corruption, eradicate impunity, and enhance accountability in public office and for Related Matters”.

The lawmaker said the bill seeks to “promote accountability in public office” by removing the immunity currently granted to the vice president, governors and their deputies.”

The draft bill states that it seeks to amend Section 308 of the principal Act by substituting a new subsection (3) as follows: “This section applies to a person holding the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Vice President only when acting as President in line with Section 145 of this Constitution.”

In subsection (4), it proposes that “The foregoing provisions of this section shall be inapplicable where the person to whom this section applies is acting in an unofficial capacity or where the conduct of the person is beyond the powers of his office or the conduct is criminal in nature”.

President should not be spared from losing immunity

Reacting, a senior lecturer in the Department of Political Science at Bayero University Kano, Dr Aminu Hayatu, faulted the amendment bill seeking to strip vice president, governors and their deputies of immunity, describing the move as unnecessary.

He queried the rationale behind advocating for the removal of immunity for only the vice president while the president is allowed to retain immunity, adding that both of them are usually elected on a joint ticket.

“So, the question is, this is a joint ticket. So, why are you isolating someone that is also a party to the ticket? If you are doing that, do it to the governors alongside the deputies and the president with his vice president.  I mean, that makes sense because it’s a joint ticket. They were not elected separately. So, all this is something that I think is unnecessary.

“What we need to focus on is whether the executive should maintain that privilege of immunity or not. That should be the subject of debate. Not that some individuals, you know, are being considered while others are being spared. The same reason the vice-president or the deputy governor is there is to assist the president or the governor. And then, it’s the same duty and function that they are performing as assistants to these executive positions; the number one position in the state or in the country.

“So, it is, I think, for me, an unnecessary exercise because we are battling with bigger problems that we should focus on. Constitutional amendment is something that should happen with deep insights, not like the one of immunity of the president or the deputy governor and what have you. So, I am opposed to this and I am a frontline critic of this.”

Also speaking on the matter, a rights activist and former Kaduna senator, Shehu Sani, faulted the removal of immunity for only the vice president while the president is allowed to enjoy immunity.

Sani in a post via his verified X handle (formerly Twitter) said: “The positive aspects of removing immunity for VP and governors is that nobody will be above the law; the negative aspect of it is that it can be used to witch hunt VPs and governors.”

He, however, argued that if the VPs must lose their immunity as proposed by the amendment bill, the president must not be spared.

“If a VP should have no immunity, whoever is the President should not have it also.

Sani urged Nigerians to “show interest in it (the proposed amendment bill) before it’s too late.”

Bill to increase Lagos LGAs from 20 to 57

Among the bills passed is the proposal to increase the number of Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Lagos State from 20 to 57.

The bill, jointly sponsored by Reps James Abiodun Faleke, Babajimi Benson, Enitan Badru and 19 others, is titled, “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) to accommodate the 37 Development Area Councils of Lagos State as full-fledged Local Government Areas, increasing the total number of Local Government Areas in Lagos State to 57 and the total number of Local Government Areas in the federation to 811, and for Related Matters (HB. 1498)

Daily Trust reports that the move is aimed at making the 37 existing Local Council Development Areas in the state full-fledged LGAs.

It would be recalled that the creation of LCDA by then administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu when he was the state governor in 2004, pitched him against then President Olusegun Obasanjo, who stopped allocations to the state following the development.

Obasanjo had directed states that created new local government areas at the time to revert to the former structure or risk stoppage of their statutory allocations.

While most of the affected states reverted to the old councils for their allocations to be restored, Lagos State remained resolute in sustaining the new councils.

The failure of then Governor Tinubu to heed to the presidential order led to the stoppage of allocations to the state.

Tinubu stood his ground and headed to the Supreme Court to challenge the action where he eventually won and the allocations for Lagos State were subsequently released.

Bills for death penalty review, power devolution, others pass second reading

Among the bills passed for second reading were those seeking a review of the framework for Local Government Administration, review of death penalty law and citizenship by investment.

One of the bills seeks to amend the constitution to transfer control of natural resources—including mines, minerals, oil fields, and geological surveys—from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List.

Sponsored by Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, Kingley Chinda,  Gaza Jonathan Gbefwi, and Ikeagwuonu Onyinye Ugochinyere, the bills (HB. 200, 1310, 1446 & 1546) aim to grant state governments a greater role in resource governance.

Another set of bills propose the transfer of fingerprints, identification, and criminal records from the Exclusive to the Concurrent List (HB.1411, 1403 & 1918).

Additionally, Hon. Babajimi Benson introduced a bill (HB.1406) to allow states to collect road tolls, while Hon. Ikeagwuonu Ugochinyere’s HB.1431 seeks to move the construction of non-trunk ‘A’ roads to the Concurrent List.

Another bill (HB.2060), co-sponsored by Benjamin Okezie Kalu and Muhammed Mukhtar, proposes the inclusion of tourism on the Concurrent List to boost the industry’s development at the state level. Another bill (HB.1412) seeks to insert piracy and high-seas crimes into the Exclusive List, reinforcing Nigeria’s maritime security.

Also, HB.1543, sponsored by Speaker Abbas Tajudeen and Hon. Marcus Onobun, aims to move quarantine-related matters from the Exclusive to the Concurrent List, potentially enhancing states’ responses to health emergencies.

Meanwhile, HB.1512 seeks to allow states to manage water resources within their jurisdictions and ensure financial autonomy for local government councils.

State creation and local government reforms

The House also considered multiple bills seeking the creation of new states, including Oke-Ogun, Ijebu, Ife-Ijesa, Tiga, Orlu, and Etiti, among others.

On local governance, HB.1669, sponsored by Hon. Dibiagwu Eugene Okechukwu, aims to reinforce local government autonomy. Conversely, HB.1215 proposes removing local governments as a constitutionally recognised tier of government and placing their creation and funding under state governments.

Traditional institutions and citizenship rights

HBs.203 & 71 propose formal recognition of traditional rulers’ advisory roles in governance, while HB.1195 & 1422 seek to extend citizenship rights to foreign spouses of Nigerian women. HB.2059 proposed a Citizenship by Investment scheme for foreign investors meeting a set financial threshold.

Also passed were bills revising penalties for capital offences (HB.2120), defining acts of torture (HB.1194), and ensuring free, compulsory basic education as a constitutional right (HBs.1661 & 1206). Additionally, HB.1517 seeks to clarify conditions for declaring a state of emergency, among others.

Why bills got accelerated passage —Reps spokesman

Meanwhile, the House has explained the rationale behind the accelerated passage of the constitution amendment bills through second reading without the general principles of the bills being subjected to debate by the lawmakers.

Speaking to our reporter, the House spokesman, Rep. Akin Rotimi said the House gave the bills accelerated passage through second reading based on resolution taken and recommendations by the House Committee on Constitutional Amendment.

He added that the measure was to expedite action and the process of the constitution review exercise, adding that the House Rule allows members to take such actions that may ease the work of the House.

According to him, the House needs to speed up the work of the committee ahead of the public hearings of the bills and other activities.

He further said it was in line with the deadline set by the committee to round off its work on the constitution review exercise.

Daily Trust reports that the constitution review committee chaired by the House Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Okezie Kalu, has set December 2025 as the deadline for the conclusion of the constitution amendment exercise.

 [DailyTrust]