Nigeria’s Senate has revised its internal rules to make the requirements for becoming Senate President more stringent, limiting the role to lawmakers with greater experience.
The decision followed a closed-door session on Tuesday, May 5, where senators agreed on new criteria designed to strengthen institutional hierarchy and deepen legislative expertise.
Under the new rules, only members of the current 10th National Assembly who have completed at least two terms will be eligible to run for principal offices, including Senate President. In addition, one of those terms must be the immediate term before nomination, meaning only returning senators can qualify.
According to the updated Order 4, nominations for presiding officers must now strictly follow the Senate’s ranking system. It states that nominations “shall be in accordance with the ranking of Senators and shall be strictly adhered to.”
The ranking order is defined as follows: former Senate Presidents, former Deputy Senate Presidents, former principal officers of the Senate, senators with at least one full term, senators who previously served in the House of Representatives, and, lastly, first-time senators where no others are available.
In effect, only senators from the current assembly who secure re-election into the next Senate will be eligible to contest for top leadership roles. The Senate says the changes are meant to reinforce its tradition of hierarchy and ensure leadership positions are held by lawmakers with substantial legislative experience.
