Future presidential elections in the country may be thrown open to interested Nigerians from the age of 35 and above, if constitution amendment proposals now before the House of Representatives are adopted.
The current minimum age for qualification for the office is 40.
Besides, Nigerians from the age of 25 years may also be allowed to seek election into the state assemblies and the House of Representatives, down from the present 30 years.
The Nation reports that these are some of the highlights of the report of the fourth alteration of the 1999 Constitution laid before the House by the Lasun Yusuf-headed Constitution Review Committee last Thursday.
The report is scheduled to be considered and adopted through electronic voting on Tuesday and Wednesday after which the House will proceed on its annual recess.
The age qualification provision comes under a bill entitled “An Act to alter the provisions of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,1999 to reduce the age for qualification for the offices of the President and Governor and membership of the Senate, House of Representatives and the State Houses of Assembly, and for other related matters.” It is the brainchild of a coalition of 53 Civil Society Groups which presented it to the House as the “Not too young to run bill.”
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