Bill To Impeach President After 30 Days Without Cabinet Into Second Reading

The House of Representatives has passed its second reading of a bill that would allow a president to be impeached after 30 days without a cabinet.

The bill, which gives the President 30 days to choose his cabinet, passed its first reading in December 2021 and is sponsored by Kpam Sokpo, a Benue state legislator.

“On assumption of office, the President shall nominate ministers within 30 days from the day he took the oath of office,” according to Section 19(1) of the proposed bill.

Section 19(2) of the bill provides that “the president shall constitute and appoint all boards of government agencies and parastatal that are due for constitution and appointment within two months from the date of his assumption of office.”

Section 19(3) stipulates that the president “shall be guilty of a misconduct as provided under section 143 (2) (b) of the Constitution” if he fails to comply with the provisions of the proposed bill. It also outlined how the president can be impeached when he is guilty of “gross misconduct in the performance of the functions of his office”.

“This bill seeks to provide for the procedure and ceremony for the transition and assumption of the office of the president, and vice-president-elect by the president-elect and vice-president-elect, and to facilitate the handover process by the outgoing president and vice-president of the federal republic of Nigeria by the president-elect and vice-president-elect,” Sokpo said.