The House of Representatives voted down a plan to amend the 1999 constitution to create a system of rotating the president and vice president’s positions across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
The proposal, which was introduced by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Okezie Kalu, was named “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Cap. C23, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 to Provide for the Principle of Rotation of the Offices of the President and the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria among the Six Geopolitical Zones of the Country, Namely: North Central, North East, North West, South East, South South, and South West and for Related Matters” (HB. 2291).
On Tuesday, May 13, 2025, the House Order Paper was set to hold a second reading of seven constitutional amendment proposals, including this measure.
After the House Leader read the bill names, the Deputy Speaker, who was presiding over the session, asked the members to comment on the bill ideas.
During the discussion, Rep. Aliyu Madaki (NNPP, Kano) voiced his opposition to the bill, claiming that the issues it sought to address were adequately addressed by the current constitutional principle of federal character.
He argued against the need to include a clause requiring the president to be zoning in the constitution, claiming that the option should be left to individual political parties.
On the other hand, Rep. Ali Isah (PDP, Gombe) disagreed with Madaki’s position and said that a constitution that included rotating president would encourage inclusivity and justice for all geographical zones.
The bill was also opposed by Rep. Sada Soli of the APC in Katsina, who claimed that it would undermine national unity and would lead to mediocrity in leadership being valued more highly than ability.
It could emphasize ethnic and regional interests over aptitude. It will promote a narrow pool of candidates for office and regional rivalry, which undermines the spirit of unity, Soli stated.
Rejecting the idea of encouraging mediocrity in response to Soli’s position, Kalu claimed that every geopolitical region in the country had competent candidates for the positions of president and vice president.
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He emphasized that the goal of the measure is to ensure that all parts of the nation can help with national development and governance. In his opposition to the bill, Representative Shina Oyedeji stated that strong competition is essential to democracy.
With the argument that “everyone should have the opportunity to run for election whenever possible,” he said that zoning and regional feelings are undermined democratic values.
Additionally opposed to the bill was Representative Bello El-Rufai of the APC in Kaduna, who cautioned that the country’s unique ethnic geography could exacerbate regional and ethnic tensions if the rotating presidency notion were institutionalized in the constitution.
After heated debates over the bill, the Deputy Speaker called for a voice vote, in which the majority of members chose to vote “nay.” The Deputy Speaker thereafter made a decision that favored the nays.
