Nigeria reduces age requirement for President to 35 years

shakirudeen taiwo

July 26, 2017 4:26 PM

The change is a response to the “not too young to run” movement, which seeks an increase in youth participation in the governance of the country.

Leaders of NASS, Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara

The upper legislative house of Nigeria, the Senate has reduced the age limit for contesting for President to 35 years.

The Age Reduction Bill was part of 33 amendments to the Nigerian 1999 Constitution at the Plenary on Wednesday, July 27, 2017. With the passage of the bill, age requirements for the President and state governor are now at 35 and 30 years respectively.

Though the bill still requires the passage of the House of Representatives before being transmitted to the President for assent, 88 Senators voted yes for the changes while 10 voted against its passage with one senator abstaining from the process.

Nigerian youths across various social media platforms have expressed their delights about the development.

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Before this amendment, the age requirements for President and governor are 40 and 35 years old respectively. This has been considered as a major hindrance to youth participation in governance.

Also, the Independent candidacy bill was also passed by the legislative body. This brought to end the need to be part of a political party before contesting elective position in the country.

shakirudeen taiwo