Yesterday, the House of Representatives (Reps) passed a bill in second reading that would keep the president’s office
immune while removing it for the vice president, governors, and deputy governors.
At a plenary in Abuja led by Deputy Speaker Mr Benjamin Kalu, the measure was one of 42 that were examined and
advanced to the second reading stage.
The initiative, which is being sponsored by Rivers State lawmaker Solomon Bob, aims to alter Section 308 of the 1999
Constitution in order to prevent official abuse and guarantee openness in government.
The long title of the proposed legislation read: “A Bill for an Act to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, 1999, to qualify the immunity conferred on the President and 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 and for related matters.”
Section 308 of the Constitution, which currently gives immunity to the president, vice president, governors, and deputy
governors while they are in office, is one of the main modifications.
Subsection 3 will be changed by the proposed bill to guarantee that immunity under Section 145 of the Constitution
only extends to the president and vice president while they are operating in that capacity.
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Furthermore, if the officeholder is operating in an unofficial capacity, acting outside the scope of their position, or
participating in criminal activity, a new subsection 4 will be added to render the immunity clause inapplicable.
“The bill seeks to foster transparency and strengthen the fight against corruption by making public officials more accountable for their actions, both in and out of office.”
“Section 308 of the principal Act is amended by (a) substituting a new subsection (3) as follows: “(3) This section
applies to a person holding the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Vice President only when acting as President, in line with Section 145 of this Constitution.
“Creating subsection (4) thereto as follows:” (4) The foregoing provisions of this section shall be inapplicable where the person to whom this section applies is acting in an unofficial capacity or where the conduct of the person is beyond the powers of his office or the conduct is criminal in nature.
