The Nigerian House of Representatives has made a dramatic U-turn on a bill seeking to strip the Vice President, Governors, and Deputy Governors of constitutional immunity.
The reversal came on Thursday after Majority Leader Julius Ihonvbere moved a motion to rescind the decision, effectively halting further progress on the proposed legislation.
Sponsored by Rivers lawmaker Solomon Bob, the bill had initially passed the second reading during Wednesday’s plenary session, which was presided over by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu.
The legislation sought to amend Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution by removing the immunity clause that protects these high-ranking officials from prosecution while in office.
The bill was framed as an anti-corruption measure aimed at enhancing accountability and preventing abuse of power. Its long title explicitly stated its objective:
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“A Bill for an Act to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to qualify the immunity conferred on the President, remove the immunity conferred on the Vice President, the Governors, and their Deputies, in order to curb corruption, eradicate impunity, and enhance accountability in public office.”
While this proposal has now been stalled, several other notable constitutional amendment bills successfully scaled through the second reading on Wednesday.
These include a bill seeking to separate the offices of the Attorney-General of the Federation and State Attorneys-General from the Minister of Justice and State Commissioners for Justice. Another bill aims to grant citizenship rights to foreign spouses of Nigerian women and establish a minimum quota for youths and women in specific public offices.
Additionally, lawmakers debated bills proposing the creation of new states, including Ijebu, Ife-Ijesa, Tiga, Orlu, and Etiti.
