B.SC/B.A, HND Are Set To Be Minimum Qualification For Important Office – House Of Reps

The House of Representatives is set to enact the law that would make first degrees in the form of Bachelors of Science/Art, B.SC/B.A or Higher National Diploma, HND minimum qualifications for election into the offices of Nigeria’s President and Governors.

Reports have said both bills are being sponsored by Hon. Ben Rollands Igbakpa representing Ethiope Federal Constituency of Delta State.

According to the lawmakers, the world is growing rapidly, and the era of electing school cert holders into important positions in the country is long gone.

House of Reps added that the fact that people in government now do meetings online, while having to be spontaneous in speaking means proper education is very key.

“The world is growing. The era of somebody having attempted school certificate, I don’t think, it is still tenable. These days, people in government now do meetings on-line. These days, people have to be spontaneous in speaking.”

A recent statement read, “A Bill for An Act to Alter the Provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 and for Related Matters/Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Fourth Alteration) Bill, 2020 (Increasing the Minimum Educational Qualification for President and Governors)”, the second one is also captioned “A Bill for An Act to Alter the Provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 and for Related Matters/Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Fourth Alteration) Bill, 2020 (to make chapter 11 of the constitution justiciable.”

“Section 131 of the Principal Act is altered in subsection (1), paragraph (d) by inserting immediately after the word “at least”, the word “the first degree from a University or Polytechnic or it’s equivalent.”

“Section 177 of the Principal Act is altered in subsection (1), paragraph (d) by inserting immediately after the word “at least”, the word “the first degree from a University or Polytechnic or it’s equivalent.”

“This Bill seeks to alter sections 131 and 177 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to raise the bar on the minimum educational qualification for election as both President and Governor.”

“The world is growing. The era of somebody having attempted school certificate, I don’t think, it is still tenable. These days, people in government now do meetings on-line. These days, people have to be spontaneous in speaking.”

“It is not always that the government will be working with prepared speeches. So, somebody at the level of governance should be intelligent and vast and the only way to acquire such knowledge is by going to school beyond the school cert so that we can place our leaders at par with leaders all over the world that they can stand at the world stage and discuss issues, policies without putting it on paper, without reading statements.”

“That’s the essence of the Bill because if you come with a school cert and a Doctorate degree holder or a professor is speaking somewhere, no matter how smart the person is, you will see the difference in your own. That’s the issue.”