The Director General of the National Institute of Legislative and Democratic Studies, Professor Abubakar Suleiman, has called for a constitutional amendment to make a degree a basic educational qualification required to be a member of parliament in Nigeria.
He made the remark during paper presentation at the 2022 house of Representatives press corps week and award at the National Assembly Abuja.
Presenting the paper titled High turnover of lawmakers; impact and way forward, , the Director General, pointed out that raising the educational requirement of lawmakers to first degree would no doubt checkmate high turnover in the legislature.
Professor Abubakar Suleiman maintained that with a degree as a higher qualification, the capacity of legislators to master the legislative practice and procedures as well as contribute to debates in parliament would be very high.
He emphasized that the major challenges threatening the institutionalization of the legislature in Nigeria were the high rate of turnover of legislators stressing that the 10th Assembly would have the worst turnover, with over 130 members out of the contest.
In a message, the Speaker House of Representatives Mr Femi Gbajabiamila called on the media to continue to play a greater role in correcting people’s misconceptions about the legislature.
In a remark, the spokesman of the house of Representatives, Mr Benjamin Kalu reminded the media of the need to stand on issue-based campaigns as the 2023 general election was quite approaching.
Earlier, the Chairperson of the House Press Corps, Grace Ike, confirmed that the event was organized to honour individuals who have contributed their quota in promoting the legislative system.
COV/TSIBIRI