Section 65 through 70 of the Nigerian Constitution
Section 65 to 70 of the constitution of Nigeria is titled Qualifications for Membership of National Assembly and Right of Attendance. It is C under Part I (National Assembly) of Chapter V (The Legislature) of the constitution.
Section 65 of the Nigerian Constitution
Qualifications for election
(1) Subject to the provisions of section 66 of this Constitution, a person shall be qualified for
election as a member of:
(a) the Senate, if he is a citizen of Nigeria and has
attained the age of 35 years; and
(b) the House of Representatives, if he is a citizen
of Nigeria and has attained the age of 30 years;
(2) A person shall be qualified for election under subsection (1) of this section if:
(a) he has been educated up to at least School
Certificate level or its equivalent; and
(b) he is a member of a political party and is
sponsored by that party.
Section 66 of the Nigerian Constitution
Disqualifications
(1) No person shall be qualified for election to the Senate or the House of Representatives if:
(a) subject to the provisions of section 28 of this
Constitution, he has voluntarily acquired the
citizenship of a country other than Nigeria or,
except in such cases as may be prescribed by the
National Assembly, has made a declaration of
allegiance to such a country;
(b) under any law in force in any part of Nigeria,
he is adjudged to be a lunatic or otherwise
declared to be of unsound mind;
(c) he is under a sentence of death imposed on
him by any competent court of law or tribunal in
Nigeria or a sentence of imprisonment or fine for
an offence involving dishonesty or fraud (by
whatever name called) or any other offence
imposed on him by such a court or tribunal or
substituted by a competent authority for any other
sentence imposed on him by such a court;
(d) within a period of less than 10 years before
the date of an election to a legislative house, he
has been convicted and sentenced for an offence
involving dishonesty or he has been found guilty
of a contravention of the Code of Conduct;
(e) he is an undischarged bankrupt, having been
adjudged or otherwise declared bankrupt under
any law in force in any part of Nigeria;
(f) he is a person employed in the public service
of the Federation or of any State and has not
resigned, withdrawn or retired from such
employment 30 days before the date of election;
(g) he is a member of a secret society;
(h) he has been indicted for embezzlement or
fraud by Judicial Commission of Inquiry or an
Administrative Panel of Inquiry or a Tribunal set
up under the Tribunals of Inquiry Act, a
Tribunals of Inquiry Law or any other law by the
Federal or State Government which indictment
has been accepted by the Federal or State
Governments respectively; or.
(i) he has presented a forged certificate to the
Independence National Electoral Commission.
(2) Where in respect of any person who has been-
(a) adjudged to be a lunatic;
(b) declared to be of unsound mind;
(c) sentenced to death or imprisonment; or
(d) adjudged or declared bankrupt,
any appeal against the decision is pending in any
court of law in accordance with any law in force
in Nigeria, subsection (1) of the section shall not
apply during a period beginning from the date
when such appeal is lodged and ending on the
date when the appeal is finally determined or, as
the case may be, the appeal lapses or is
abandoned, whichever is earlier.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2) of this section “appeal” includes any
application for an injunction or an order certiorari, mandamus, prohibition or habeas
corpus, or any appeal from any such application.
Section 67 of the Nigerian Constitution
Right of attendance of President
(1) The President may attend any joint meeting of the National Assembly or any meeting of either
House of the National Assembly, either to deliver an address on national affairs including fiscal
measures, or to make such statement on the policy of government as he considers to be of national
importance.
(2) A Minister of the Government of the Federation attend either House of the
National Assembly if invited to express to the House the conduct of his Ministry, and
in particular when the affairs of that Ministry are under discussion.
(3) Nothing in this section shall enable any person who is not a member of the Senate
or of the House of Representatives to vote in that House or in any of its committees.
Section 68 of the Nigerian Constitution
Tenure of Seat of Members
(1) A member of the Senate or of the House of Representatives shall vacate his seat in the House of
which he is a member if –
(a) he becomes a member of another legislative
house.
(b) any other circumstances arise that, if he were
not a member of the Senate or the House of
Representatives, would cause him to be
disqualified for election as a member;
(c) he ceases to be a citizen of Nigeria;
(d) he becomes President, Vice-President,
Governor, Deputy Governor or a Minister of the
Government of the Federation or a Commissioner
of the Government of a State or a Special
Adviser.
(e) save as otherwise prescribed by this
Constitution, he becomes a member of a
commission or other body established by this
Constitution or by any other law.
(f) without just cause he is absent from meetings
of the House of which he is a member for a
period amounting in the aggregate to more than
one-third of the total number of days during
which the House meets in any one year;
(g) being a person whose election to the House
was sponsored by a political party, he becomes a
member of another political party before the
expiration of the period for which that House was
elected;
Provided that his membership of the latter
political party is not as a result of a division in
the political party of which he was previously a
member or of a merger of two or more political
parties or factions by one of which he was
previously sponsored; or
(h) the President of the Senate or, as the case may
be, the Speaker of the House of Representatives
receives a certificate under the hand of the
Chairman of the Independent National Electoral
Commission stating that the provisions of section
69 of this Constitution have been complied with
in respect of the recall of that member.
(2) The President of the Senate or the Speaker of the House of Representatives, as the
case may be, shall give effect to the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, so
however that the President of the Senate or the Speaker of the House of
Representatives or a member shall first present evidence satisfactory to the House
concerned that any of the provisions of that subsection has become applicable in
respect of that member.
(3) A member of the Senate or of the House of Representatives shall be deemed to be
absent without just cause from a meeting of the House of which he is a member,
unless the person presiding certifies in writing that he is satisfied that the absence of
the member from the meeting was for a just cause.
Section 69 of the Nigerian Constitution
Recall
A member of the Senate or of the House Representatives may be recalled as such a member if –
(a) there is presented to the Chairman of the
Independent National Electoral Commission a
petition in that behalf signed by more than onehalf of the persons registered to vote in that
member’s constituency alleging their loss of
confidence in that member; and
(b) the petition is thereafter, in a referendum
conducted by the Independent National Electoral
Commission within ninety days of the date of
receipt of the petition, approved by a simple
majority of the votes of the persons registered to
vote in that member’s constituency.
Section 70 of the Nigerian Constituton
Remuneration
A member of the Senate or of the House of Representatives shall receive such salary and other
allowances as Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission may determine
