Section 52 through 64 of the Nigerian Constitution
Section 52 to 64 of the constitution of Nigeria is titled Procedure for Summoning and Dissolution of National Assembly. It is B under Part I (National Assembly) of Chapter V (The Legislature) of the constitution.
Section 52 of the Nigerian Constitution
Declaration of assets and liabilities ;oath of members.
(1) Every member of the Senate or the House of Representatives shall, before taking his seat,
declare his assets and liabilities as prescribed in this Constitution and subsequently take and subscribe
the Oath of Allegiance and the oath of membership as prescribed in the Seventh Schedule to this
Constitution before the President of the Senate or, as the case may be, the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, but a member may before taking the oaths take part in the election of a President and a
Deputy President of the Senate, as the case may be, or a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker of the House of
Representatives.
(2) The President and Deputy President of the Senate and the Speaker and the Deputy
Speaker of the House of Representative s shall declare their assets and liabilities as
prescribed in this Constitution and subsequently take and subscribe the Oath of
Allegiance and the oath of membership prescribed as aforesaid before the Clerk of
the National Assembly.
Section 53 of the Nigerian Constitution
Presiding at sitting of the National Assembly and at joint sittings.
(1) At any sitting of the National Assembly –
(a) in the case of the Senate, the President of the
Senate shall preside, and in his absence the
Deputy President shall preside; and
(b) in the case of the House of Representatives,
the Speaker of that House shall preside, and in his
absence the Deputy Speaker shall preside.
(2) At any joint sitting of the Senate and House of Representatives –
(a) the President of Senate shall preside, and in
his absence the Speaker of the House of
Representatives shall preside; and
(b) in the absence of the persons mentioned in
paragraph (a) of this subsection, the Deputy
President of the Senate shall preside, and in his
absence the Deputy Speaker of the House of
Representatives shall preside.
(3) In the absence of the persons mentioned in the foregoing provisions of this
section, such member of the Senate or the House of Representatives or of the joint
sitting, as the case may be, as the Senate or the House of Representatives or the joint
sitting may elect for that purpose shall preside.
Section 54 of the Nigerian Constitution
Quorum.
(1) The quorum of the Senate or of the House of Representatives shall be one-third of all the
members on of the Legislative House concerned.
(2) The quorum of a joint sitting of both the Senate or of the House of
Representatives shall be one-third of all the members of both Houses.
(3) If objection is taken by any member of the Senate or the House of Representatives
present that there are present in the House of which he is a member (besides the
person presiding fewer than one-third of all the members of that House and that it is
not competent for the House to transact business, and after such interval as may be
prescribed in the rules of procedure of the House, the person presiding ascertains that
the number of members present is still less than one-third of all the members of the
House he shall adjourn the House.
(4) The foregoing provisions of this section shall apply in relation to a joint sitting of
both Houses of the National Assembly as they apply in relation to a House of the
National Assembly as if references to the Senate or the House of Representatives and
a member of either Houses are references to both Houses and to any member of the
National Assembly, respectively.
Section 55 of the Nigerian Constitution
Languages.
The business of the National Assembly shall be conducted in English, and in Hausa, Ibo and
Yoruba when adequate arrangements have been made therefor.
Section 56 of the Nigerian Constitution
Voting.
(1) Except as otherwise provided by this Constitution any question proposed for decision in the
Senate or the House of Representatives shall be determined by the required majority or the members
present and voting; and the person presiding shall cast a vote whenever necessary y to avoid an equality
of votes but shall not vote in any other case.
(2) Except as otherwise provided by this Constitution, the required majority for the
purpose of determining any question shall be a simple majority.
(3) The Senate or the House of Representatives shall by its rules provide –
(a) that a member of the House shall declare any
direct pecuniary interest he may have in any
matter coming before the House for deliberation;
(b) that the House may by resolution decide
whether or not such member may vote, or
participate in its deliberations, on such matter;
(c) the penalty, if any, which the House may
impose for failure to declare any direct pecuniary
interest such member may have; and`
(d) for such other matters pertaining to the
foregoing as the House may think necessary,
but nothing in the foregoing provisions shall
enable any rules to be made to require any
member, who signifies his intention not to vote
on or participate in such matter, and who does not
so vote or participate, to declare any such
interest.
Section 57 of the Nigerian Constitution
Unqualified person sitting or voting.
Any person who sits or votes in the Senate or the House of Representatives knowing or having
reasonable grounds for knowing that he is not entitled to do so commits an offence and is liable on
conviction to such punishment as shall be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly.
Section 58 of the Nigerian Constitution
Mode of exercising Federal Legislative power: general
(1) The power of the National Assembly to make laws shall be exercised by bills passed by both the
Senate and the House of Representatives and, except as otherwise provided by subsection (5) of this
section, assented to by the President.
(2) A bill may originate in either the Senate or the House of Representatives and shall
not become law unless it has been passed and, except as otherwise provided by this
section and section 59 of this Constitution, assented to in accordance with the
provisions of this section.
(3) Where a bill has been passed by the House in which it originated, it shall be sent
to the other House, and it shall be presented to the President for assent when it has
been passed by that other House and agreement has been reached between the two
Houses on any amendment made on it.
(4) Where a bill is presented to the President for assent, he shall within thirty days
thereof signify that he assents or that he withholds assent.
(5) Where the President withholds his assent and the bill is again passed by each
House by two-thirds majority, the bill shall become law and the assent of the
President shall not be required.
Section 59 of the Nigerian Constitution
Mode of exercising Federal Legislative Power: money bills.
(1) The provisions of this section shall apply to:
(a) an appropriation bill or a supplementary
appropriation bill, including any other bill for the
payment, issue or withdrawal from the
Consolidated Revenue Fund or any other public
fund of the Federation of any money charged
thereon or any alteration in the amount of such a
payment, issue or withdrawal; and
(b) a bill for the imposition of or increase in any
tax, duty or fee or any reduction, withdrawal or
cancellation thereof.
(2) Where a bill to which this section applies is passed by one of the Houses of the
National Assembly but is not passed by the other House within a period of two
months from the commencement of a financial year, the President of the Senate shall
within fourteen days thereafter arrange for and convene a meeting of the joint finance
committee to examine the bill with a view to resolving the differences between the
two Houses.
(3) Where the joint finance committee fails to resolve such differences, then the bill
shall be presented to the National Assembly sitting at a joint meeting, and if the bill is
passed at such joint meeting, it shall be presented to the President for assent.
(4) Where the President, within thirty days after the presentation of the bill to him,
fails to signify his assent or where he withholds assent, then the bill shall again be
presented to the National Assembly sitting at a joint meeting, and if passed by twothirds majority of members of both houses at such joint meeting, the bill shall become
law and the assent of the President shall not be required.
(5) In this section, “joint finance committee” refers to the joint committee of the
National Assembly on finance established pursuant to section 62(3) of this
Constitution.
Section 60 of the Nigerian Constitution
Regulations of procedure
Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the Senate or the House of Representatives shall have
power to regulate its own procedure, including the procedure for summoning and recess of the House.
Section 61 of the Nigerian Constitution
Vacancy or participation of strangers not to invalidate proceedings
The Senate or the House of Representatives may act notwithstanding any vacancy in its
membership, and the presence or participation of any person not entitled to be present at or to
participate in the proceedings of the House shall not invalidate those proceedings.
Section 62 of the Nigerian Constitution
Committees
(1) The Senate or the House of Representatives may appoint a committee of its members for such
special or general purpose as in its opinion would be better regulated and managed by means of such a
committee, and may by resolution, regulation or otherwise, as it thinks fit, delegate any functions
exercisable by it to any such committee.
(2) The number of members of a committee appointed under this section, their terms
of office and quorum shall be fixed by the House appointing it.
(3) The Senate and the House of Representatives shall appoint a joint committee on
finance consisting of an equal number of persons appointed by each House and may
appoint any other joint committee under the provisions of this section.
(4) Nothing in this section shall be construed as authorising such House to delegate to
a committee the power to decide whether a bill shall be passed into law or to
determine any matter which it is empowered to determine by resolution under the
provisions of this Constitution, but the committee may be authorised to make
recommendations to the House on any such matter.
Section 63 of the Nigerian Constitution
Sittings
The Senate and the House of Representatives shall each sit for a period of not less than one hundred
and eighty-one days in a year.
Section 64 of the Nigerian Constitution
Dissolution and issue of proclamations by president
(1) The Senate and the House of Representatives shall each stand dissolved at the expiration of a
period of four years commencing from the date of the first sitting of the House.
(2) If the Federation is at war in which the territory of Nigeria is physically involved
and the President considers that it is not practicable to hold elections, the National
Assembly may by resolution extend the period of four years mentioned in subsection
(1) of this section from time to time but not beyond a period of six months at any one
time.
(3) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the person elected as the President
shall have power to issue a proclamation for the holding of the first session of the
National Assembly immediately after his being sworn in, or for its dissolution as
provided in this section.
