A uniform retirement age for Nigerian judges has been approved by the National Assembly, and the clerk has been instructed to submit the bill to the president for approval.
This came after a resolution titled "Passage of Constitution (Fifth) Alteration Bill No. 20 (Uniform Retirement Age for Judicial Officers), 2023" was approved during a plenary session on Tuesday.
The move, which was supported by Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege, Chairman of the Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Constitution Review, was in accordance with the Authentication Act's rules.
“Remember that on April 2, the President authorized the Clerk of the National Assembly to deliver Constitution Alteration Bill No. 47 (Establishment of State Security Council) to him after it had satisfied Section 9(2) of the Constitution.
"Recall also that the Sokoto State House of Assembly was one of the State Houses of Assembly that had not yet forwarded its resolution; other State Houses of Assembly include Gombe, Jigawa, Kebbi, Kwara, Plateau, Sokoto, and Taraba.
"Aware that the Sokoto State House of Assembly has forwarded its resolution; and convinced that with their approval, the Constitution (Fifth Alteration) Bill No. 20 (Uniform Retirement Age for Judicial Officers) has met the requirements of Section 9(2) of the Constitution, for passage," Omo-Agege said.
Sen. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi (APC - Niger), the Senate's deputy chief whip, backed the motion.
This is a crucial component of the legislative agenda for the ninth Senate's effort to reform the judiciary.
He claimed that setting a standard retirement age for the judiciary will clear the backlog of cases and guarantee quick administration of justice.
Ahmad Lawan, the president of the Senate, expressed happiness with the outcome.
"We are happy that this will be part of our legacy as the 9th National Assembly because this is a very important amendment to the Constitution," he said.