GistNexus – March 30, 2025.
Breaking away from tradition, the House of Representatives has, in a historic move, passed a bill to transition Nigeria from its present presidential system of government to a parliamentary system. This second-read bill is one of 31 constitutional amendment proposals that were debated during a plenary session on Thursday, March 28, 2025. The bill, “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to Provide for the Office of the Prime Minister as Head of Government and the Office of President as Head of State,” was moved by House Minority Leader Kingsley Chinda, seconded by 59 others members of parliament.
The Proposal and Its Implications
The bill seeks to abolish the current presidential system and introduce a parliamentary one. Under this system, executive power would rest with a Prime Minister appointed by the legislature, with the President becoming a ceremonial Head of State. The amendment aims at addressing some of the perceived inadequacies in Nigeria’s present system of governance, including the costliness of the presidential system, centralization of powers of the executive, and absence of accountability by the leadership.
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Abdussamad Dasuki, speaking on behalf of the sponsors of the bill, indicated the inefficiencies that have plagued Nigeria’s presidential system. According to Dasuki, the system has resulted in astronomical governance costs, diverting valuable resources from critical sectors such as infrastructure, healthcare, and education. Dasuki asserted that the parliamentary system, which Nigeria embraced in its First Republic, was more accountable and efficient. “The parliamentary system allowed elected members to hold both legislative and executive powers, making them answerable directly to the people,” Dasuki said. The bill sponsors are positive that the restoration of this system will boost governance and lead to enhanced service delivery to Nigerians.
Support for Parliamentary System
The call for a return to a parliamentary system is not new. 60 lawmakers across political parties tabled three varying bills in February 2024 that aimed to advance Nigeria to the parliamentary system within 2031. The three bills were set to amend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to facilitate such a change. The idea caught traction since and its proponents espoused the benefit of an earlier history for Nigeria’s parliamentary system. During the First Republic, Nigeria was ruled under a parliamentary system, and many believe it was an era of enormous national productivity.
Support for the programme has extended beyond the sacrosanct corridors of the parliament. Legislators recently paid visits to influential stakeholders, including the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence Sa’ad Abubakar III, and former Vice Chancellor, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Professor Ango Abdullahi, to solicit their support for the parliamentary system of government. The parliamentarians argue that the parliamentary system of government was more productive and efficient, addressing the needs of the Nigerian people far better than the current presidential setup.
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Other Constitutional Amendments in the Pipeline
In addition to the parliamentary system bill, the House of Representatives is also debating several other major amendments to Nigeria’s Constitution. The most prominent proposal among these may be an amendment to provide for foreign men married to Nigerian women being granted citizenship. The current law, in Section 26 of the 1999 Constitution, allows foreign women married to Nigerian men to apply for citizenship but does not give the same privilege to foreign men married to Nigerian women. The bill, sponsored by Akin Alabi (APC, Egbeda/Ona Ara, Oyo State), seeks to counteract this gender imbalance by making it that Nigerian women should also be free to confer citizenship on their foreign husbands.
This amendment is poised to end the discriminatory treatment of foreign wives, which has been at the heart of disagreements for years. Section 26(2)(a) of the Constitution at present limits the right to be granted Nigerian citizenship through marriage to women who are married to Nigerian husbands. The proposed amendment would eliminate the gender discrimination, whereby there would be equal rights for both men and women when it comes to citizenship.
Additional Legislative Reforms
Apart from the constitutional amendment bills, the House of Representatives is also looking at a series of other key bills to overhaul Nigeria’s electoral and governance systems. One of the bills is focused on overhauling the process of how state governors, deputy governors, and commissioners are elected and appointed. The proposed reforms are focused on streamlining the electoral process and enhancing transparency in the selection of officials at the state level.
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Another significant proposal floating around is a bill that will reduce the period for the determination of pre-election petitions. The bill proposes establishing pre-election tribunals in order to fast-track the course of election-based litigation. This comes in light of the extended and often confrontational nature of pre-election matters in Nigeria. By setting definite timelines for the disposal of petitions, the bill seeks to instill confidence that election disputes will be resolved in a timely and effective manner, in order to instill confidence in the electoral process.
Handling Legislative Responsibility and Suspension
Another bill that has gone around the House of Representatives addresses the suspension of elected members of the National Assembly from their legislative duties. The bill will cater for the regulation of the process of suspension so that all suspensions can be carried out in a clear and equitable fashion. The bill comes after Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan was six-months-suspended over her alleged gross misconduct following a altercation with Senate President Godswill Akpabio during a plenary. The Akpoti-Uduaghan suspension row has questioned the sanctity of the suspension procedure as fair and transparent, which called for legislative reforms.
Proposals to Improve Legislative Oversight
Among the other bills that passed their second reading is a bill to give both the National Assembly and the Houses of Assembly of the states the power to invite the President and governors to answer questions on issues of national security or other public issues. The bill aims at strengthening the oversight role of the legislature by holding executive officers accountable for their actions.
In the same vein, the House is considering a bill to take away from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the power to register and regulate political parties. That would be the function of the Office of the Registrar General of Political Parties. The amendment seeks to limit the perceived overbearing role of INEC over political parties and to make provisions for greater autonomy in handling political organizations.
Appropriations Bill and Other Legislative Reforms
The other key bill that underwent a second reading is a bill that suggests imposing timelines on laying the annual Appropriations Bill. The bill suggests aligning the budget process by ensuring the Appropriations Bill is laid within a timeframe every year. By imposing timelines, the bill will see the budget process become more certain and effective and thus enhance the management of finance.
State Creation and Constitutional Amendments
In addition to the various bills aimed at reforming governance, the House has also taken steps to consider the creation of new states in Nigeria. A total of 30 new states have been proposed, although none of the proposals have met the constitutional threshold for state creation. Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu recently informed legislators who are sponsoring bills on state establishment of the March 31, 2025, deadline for submission. The proposals will be considered by the Special Ad-hoc Committee on Constitution Review, led by Kalu, for further consideration.
Looking Ahead: A Constitutional Overhaul
As the legislative process goes on, these proposed amendments will surely cause a lot of controversy both in the House of Representatives and across Nigeria’s politics. Some of these reforms are considered essential to improving Nigeria’s governance, while others will surely face strong opposition from political figures who have stakes in the current system. Nevertheless, the attempts currently being made to reform Nigeria’s Constitution reflect a willingness to tackle problems of governance, accountability, and electoral integrity that have plagued years.
The coming months will be pivotal as the various constitutional amendment bills wind their way through the legislative process, the possibility of bringing dramatic change to Nigeria’s political structure. Whether or not the reforms will ultimately lead to the implementation of a parliamentary system or other revolutionary actions cannot yet be predicted, but the debate regarding these changes is indeed shaping the future of Nigeria’s democracy.
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Reported by GistNexus Team and Edited by Mr. Chibueze Onwuka