Section 189 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria
Section 189 of the Constitution of Nigeria 1999 is about Permanent incapacity of Governor or Deputy Governor. It is under Chapter VI (The Executive) of the Act.
(1) The Governor or Deputy Governor of a State shall cease to hold office if-
(a) by a resolution passed by two-thirds majority of all members of the executive council of the State, it is declared that the Governor or Deputy Governor is incapable of discharging the functions of his office; and
(b) the declaration in paragraph (a) of this subsection is verified, after such medical examination as may be necessary, by a medical panel established under subsection (4) of this section in its report to the Speaker of the House of Assembly.
(2) Where the medical panel certifies in its report that in its opinion the Governor or Deputy Governor is suffering from such infirmity of body or mind as renders him permanently incapable of discharging the functions of his office, a notice thereof signed by the Speaker of the House of Assembly shall be published in the Official Gazette of the Government of the State.
(3) The Governor or Deputy Governor shall cease to hold office as from the date of publication of the notice of the medical report pursuant to subsection (2) of this section.
(4) The medical panel to which this section relates shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Assembly of the State, and shall comprise five medical practitioners in Nigeria –
(a) one of whom shall be the personal physician of the holder of the office concerned; and
(b) four other medical practitioners who have, in the opinion of the Speaker of the House of Assembly, attained a high degree of eminence in the field of medicine relative to the nature of the examination to be conducted in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this section.
(5) In this section, the reference to “executive council of the State” is a reference to the body of Commissioners of the Government of the State, howsoever called, established by the Governor and
charged with such responsibilities for the functions of Government as the Governor may direct.
Credit: Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC)
