Nigeria’s National Assembly has moved a step closer to one of the most ambitious constitutional amendment exercises since 1999, with about 86 bills now under review. The development followed a national public hearing in Abuja on September 22, 2025, where lawmakers, civil society groups, and stakeholders presented their views on the proposals.
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, said the public hearing demonstrated that the Nigerian Constitution “belongs to every Nigerian.” It followed earlier zonal hearings held across the six geopolitical zones in July, where voices from governors, traditional rulers, women’s groups, professional bodies, and security agencies were included in the review process.
The proposed amendments cut across critical areas of national life. On electoral reforms, lawmakers are considering 12 bills that would mandate all general elections to be conducted on a single day, allow independent candidacy, establish a local government elections commission, and ensure pre-election petitions are concluded before officials are sworn in. The review also seeks to alter the method of appointing the INEC chairman, vesting that responsibility in the National Judicial Council.
Judicial reforms make up the largest share, with 21 bills proposing significant changes. These include making the Court of Appeal the final arbiter for some election cases, creating local government election tribunals, increasing the number of Supreme Court and Appeal Court justices, and separating the roles of Attorney-General from Justice Ministers. Other measures would require faster judicial appointments and empower the National Judicial Council to review judges’ remuneration.
Other proposals target governance and inclusion. For instance, three bills are pushing for reserved seats for women and people with disabilities in national and state assemblies, while another seeks to reserve a quota of ministerial positions for women. On security, a single but contentious bill calls for the establishment of state police forces, a longstanding debate in Nigeria’s federal system.
The review also covers fiscal and institutional reforms. Bills propose state control of resources like mines, minerals, and water with a 25 percent federal revenue share, mandatory population censuses every 10 years, annual audits by government agencies, and new timelines for federal and state budgets. A separate amendment would give the National Assembly power to summon the president or governors on urgent national security matters.
Traditional rulers, too, may gain constitutional recognition, as one proposed bill seeks to assign them formal advisory roles in governance and security frameworks. Meanwhile, amendments on citizenship aim to introduce citizenship by investment, extend equal rights to foreign spouses of Nigerian women, and redefine indigene status based on marriage or long-term residence. Human rights reforms also seek to outlaw the public parade of suspects, convert death sentences for pregnant women into life imprisonment, and automatically domesticate international human rights treaties once ratified.
Following the public hearing, the constitution review committees will compile their reports and submit them to both chambers of the National Assembly by November. Lawmakers are expected to vote on the alteration bills, after which they will be transmitted to state assemblies in December. If approved by at least 24 of the 36 states and assented to by the president in January 2026, Nigeria could see one of the most far-reaching constitutional overhauls in its democratic history.
