Senate Amends Rules, Sets New Requirements for Senate President and Deputy

The Nigerian Senate has amended its standing rules to require that any senator seeking to contest the office of President of the Senate or Deputy President of the Senate must have served at least one term in the Senate.

All Facts Newspaper reports that the amendment was passed on Tuesday, October 3, 2023.

The motion was titled: “Amendment of the Standing Orders of the Senate pursuant to Order 109 of the Senate Standing Orders, 2022 (As Amended).”

Rule 3 of the Senate Standing Orders, as amended, now stipulates that any senator wishing to contest for the position of the Senate President and Deputy Senate President must have spent at least one term in the Senate.

With the recent amendment to the Senate’s standing orders, first-term senators are no longer eligible to contest for the position of presiding officers in the Red Chamber.