Explainer: Age Qualification for Elective Positions in Nigeria

On March 25, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said that it had disqualified 3 political parties from participating in the 2022 Osun Governorship election. The affected parties are the Action Alliance (AA), the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), and African Democratic Congress (ADC). 

INEC explained that the disqualification of the AA party was due to its failure to  “submit a nomination jointly signed by its National Chairman and Secretary”, while the ADC and APGA were disqualified based on the fact that the candidates nominated for both parties did not “meet the age requirements for the office of Deputy Governor as enshrined in the Constitution”.

A similar event occurred in 2019 when the Commission announced that it was disqualifying some of the Governorship and Deputy Governorship candidates in the Bayelsa and Kogi gubernatorial elections because they failed to meet the minimum age prescribed by the constitution for those positions.

In February this year, Mr Obinna Nwosu, one of the aspirants for the Abia Governorship position in the upcoming 2023 general elections, announced that he had stepped down from the race because he was ineligible for the position due to his age.

“My attention has been drawn to the fact that, due to an alteration in the NOT TOO YOUNG TO RUN BILL, I am no longer eligible to run for Governor at the age of 32”, he said in a statement he signed.

With repeated cases of disqualification of Governorship and/or Deputy Governorship candidates or voluntary withdrawal of aspirants, as in the case of Nwosu, due to the issue of age, it is important to examine the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) in relation to its stipulations on the minimum age requirements for elective positions in the country.

Prior to the 2019 general elections, the Nigerian constitution puts the minimum age for any individual who wishes to be the President at 40 years. For Governors, the constitution states that such individuals must be at least 35 years of age; the Senate, 35, while the minimum age for the House of Representatives and State Houses of Assembly were pegged at 30 years. 

However, according to Yiaga Africa, these age requirements shut the door on a large number of Nigerian youth who constitute the majority of the country’s population and registered voters. As a result, in May 2016, Yiaga Africa began pushing for The Age Reduction Bill, which is popularly known as the Not Too Young To Run Bill. The Bill sought an amendment to Sections 65; 106; 131; and 177 of the 1999 Constitution to lower the age limit to contest for elected offices. After a prolonged bureaucratic process, on May 31, 2018, President Muhammadu Buhari signed the bill into law. 

With the signing of the bill, the minimum age requirements for elective positions were reduced except for the positions of Governors and Senators. The age qualification for the office of the President was reduced to 35 years, while the House of Representatives and State House of Assembly were both reduced to 25 years. However, Governorship and Senate positions were retained at 35 years. 

The slight difference between the proposed age of candidacy in the Not Too Young To Run Bill and the approved age requirements signed into law could cause some confusion for aspirants on candidacy age requirements. Hopefully, this brief piece will provide the needed clarification for individuals who intend to contest elective positions in the upcoming general elections.