News
Reps Reject Bill To Change Educational Qualification For President, Vice, Others
By Gloria Ikibah
The House of Representatives on Tuesday stepped down a bill seeking to change the minimum requirement for the office of President , Vice President, National Assembly members and other political office from first school leaving certificate to degree or its equivalent.
This was sequel to the passage of a bill sponsored by Rep. Adewunmi Onanuga on Tuesday at plenary.
The bill was titled: “A Bill for an Act to Alter the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) to change the Educational Qualification for Elections into Certain Political Offices and for Related Matters”.
Debating on the general principles of the bill, Onanuga called on the House to look critically into educational qualification of political office holder stating that Nigeria has moved passed school leaving certificate as the minimum requirement to contest political office, adding that degree or it’s equivalent should be made minimum requirement.
Speaking in favour of the bill, Babajimi Benson from (Lagos state) said: “Anyone who is going to oppose this bill should tell if his son or daughter is in the university or not. I can’t believe that in this modern age some people will say don’t go to school but yet go and be the president”.
Professor Julius Ihonvbare said: “We all know what the world is today. A world were knowledge is power, we see leaders of other nations who make excellent presentation but here we have leaders dodging debate .I don’t think this requirement should apply to all political offices, for local government it might not be required but for President , Vice National Assembly members should be required to own a degree”.
For Rep. Leke Abejide, “The world has moved, Nigeria should not be left behind, We put a mediocre to head an important political office we will end up in disaster.
Rep. Alfred Iliah, added that educational qualification is very important and the bedrock of every society. According to him, qualification of every National Assembly members should be looked into if the country must make progress.
Rep. Mustapha Aliyu from (Sokoto ), stated that the amendment was long overdue. He added: “Education is bedrock the development of any society. For those contesting for executive seat should have a degree, however the jump from leaving school to degree is too wide, I will propose that there should be middle course”.
Shetimma lawal from (Borno) said that the requirement for Governance should cut across all level from the highest to the lowest .
He added: “For politicians we are only providing leadership, political offices should be categorized”.
Rep. Kingsley Chinda, House Minority Leader, while endorsing the bill, remarked on the declining standard of education, stating that raising educational requirements would motivate Nigerian youth. He emphasized the importance of backing this effort wholeheartedly.
“Why do we say a primary school holder should be given . We should do the right thing”, he said.
Speaking against the bill, Aliyu Madaki from (Kano), said the leadership quality of a political office holder is not determined by your level of education .
“What ever we are trying to do is for all Nigerians. I have an MBA in Financial Management but restricting other with qualifications will not carry all Nigerians along . All Nigerians should be allowed to participate and exercise their leadership qualities.
Bashir Sokoto from (Sokoto) said, “We were privilege to go to university, but we have less privilege Nigerians who cannot afford to go to the university. I propose that we allow minimum requirement for political office holders to remain school cert”.
Hon Ahmed Jaha from Borno said passing the bill will negatively affect some section of the country, he insisted that educational qualification was not a true taste of knowledge.
“Qualification alone is not a true taste of knowledge . We are doing laws for good governance and for peace in this country. We will not do laws that will favour only a few number of Nigerians . How many Nigerians are degree holders America that we refer to have done greatly in educating its citizens’s but here in Nigeria how what have we done in improving our education system”, he stated. .
Also speaking against the bill, Inuwa Garba from (Gombe ) said “the mover of this bill is not aware of what is happening in some part of this country.
“Some schools in some part of the country have been shot down for a while now. Certificate is not true test of knowledge
The bill is discriminatory against some people”.
The bill was therefore stepped down after a heated debate by the presiding officer Hon Banjamin Kalu.
The Nigerian Air Force, NAF, has taken delivery of five new helicopters as the Federal Government steps up efforts to modernise the country’s airpower capabilities and strengthen military operations against security threats.
The platforms comprise three AW-109 Trekker B helicopters manufactured by Leonardo Helicopters of Italy and two H-125 helicopters manufactured by Airbus Helicopters.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, Director of Public Relations and Information, Nigerian Air Force Headquarters, the NAF said the three AW-109s, which are part of 10 recently acquired by the Federal Government, were received in Lagos on September 15, 2026, while the remaining seven are expected to be delivered before the end of the year. The two H-125 helicopters had been delivered earlier.
The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, said the new helicopters would increase aircraft availability and improve the NAF’s ability to support ongoing military operations.
“The arrival of these five helicopters provides greater flexibility in the employment of airpower in support of ground troops in ongoing operations,” Aneke said.
He said the AW-109 Trekker B helicopters would enhance the NAF’s capabilities in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, close air support, armed escort, combat search and rescue, and other joint operations.
Aneke added that the H-125 helicopters would provide light helicopter support for various operational requirements.
The new platforms are undergoing post-delivery assembly and technical and crew-readiness processes ahead of their induction and operationalisation.
Aneke said the increased rotary-wing capacity would strengthen support for joint forces conducting operations against terrorism, kidnapping and banditry.
He said the NAF would also prioritise maintenance and logistics support to ensure the new aircraft remain available for operations.
The Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, has endorsed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s bid for a second term in office, declaring that there will be “no vacancy” in the Presidential Villa, Abuja for the next four or five years.
Oba Akiolu gave the support when the Director-General of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, led members of the council on a courtesy visit to his palace in Lagos on Monday.
The monarch urged politicians to approach the 2027 General Elections with responsibility and ensure that the electoral process is peaceful and serves the interests of Nigerians.
Oba Akiolu cautioned members of the campaign council against actions capable of undermining the peace and stability of the country, even as he urged them to uphold honesty and shun the Machiavellian principle that the end justifies the means.
Speaking, the Director-General of the Campaign Council, Yari, said the delegation was in Lagos to seek the monarch’s blessings, prayers and counsel as the council begins its nationwide campaign activities ahead of the 2027 polls.
Yari said the APC believed President Tinubu deserved a second term to consolidate his administration’s efforts in the areas of the economy, security and infrastructure.
The Campaign D-G, while acknowledging the economic difficulties facing Nigerians, appealed for continued support for the president, saying APC leaders from the North would work to secure strong backing for Tinubu’s re-election across the region.
Receiving the delegation, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, described the visit as significant, noting that the council had made the Oba’s palace one of its early stops following its engagement with the Sokoto Caliphate.
Governor Sanwo-Olu said the visit underscored Lagos’ strategic importance to Nigeria’s political process, describing the state as the country’s commercial and economic nerve centre as well as a major political hub.
The visit was attended by Lagos APC leaders, local government chairmen, members of the National Assembly, state lawmakers and other party stakeholders.
Former Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Alhaji Mohammed Mani, has been endorsed as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP in Niger state
Alhaji Mani replaces Abubakar Sulaiman, who was elected at the PDP primary last May.
Sulaiman voluntarily withdrawn from the position in the interest of the peace unity and progress of the party.
The endorsement of the former FIRS boss for the governorship contest was made by PDP stakeholders from across the state at the state party secretariat.
Addressing the stakeholders, Alhaji Mani promised to deliver the state to the PDP in next year’s election and solicited the support of party faithful for the realisation of the objective.
The new PDP candidate had earlier contested for the governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress(APC) which Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago got by “ consensus.”
He was among the APC aspirants who lost in the primary election and recently defected to the PDP.
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