The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the Coalition of United Political Parties and the Social Democratic Party, SDP, have condemned the House of Representatives’ move to impose age limits for the offices of the President and governor in the country.
The House intended to bar those over the age of 60 from standing for president or governor of Nigeria by passing a bill in second reading on Thursday.
If the measure passes legislative examination and is signed into law, President Bola Tinubu, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, will be ineligible for the 2027 presidential election because they are all over the age of 60.
The PDP slammed the move as a misguided priority, accusing lawmakers of focussing on minor matters while ignoring more pressing ones.
It contended that corruption, ineptitude, and a lack of patriotism, not age, are Nigeria’s key governance difficulties.
The SDP, on the other hand, acknowledged that age has some influence on governance.
Titled ‘A Bill for an Act to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to review the requirements that qualify a person to be elected as President and Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Governors and Deputy Governor of a State of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and for Related Matters’, it was sponsored by Ikenga Ugochinyere, representing Ideato North/Ideato South Federal Constituency of Imo State.
The bill provides that “A person shall be qualified for election to the office of the President if he has been educated up to at least university level and has earned a bachelor’s degree in his chosen field of study.
“Section 131 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting a paragraph which reads, ‘That he is not more than 60 years old at the time of vying for the Office of President.
“Section 177(d) of the principal Act is amended by altering the educational requirement that qualifies persons to be elected as governor as follows:
“A person shall be qualified for election to the Office of the President if he has been educated up to at least university level and has earned a bachelor’s degree in his chosen field of study. That he is not more than 60 years old at the time of vying for the office of governor.
In reaction, PDP Deputy National Youth Leader Timothy Osadolor described the lawmakers as ‘’the most irresponsible in Nigeria’s history.’’
In an interview, Osadolor remarked that Nigeria’s difficulties are not age-related.
He stated, “I believe, and I am more convinced with this action of theirs, that this set of senators and House of Representatives are the most unserious assembly we have ever had in the history of this country. The problem we have today is not of age or date of birth.
“The problem we have is that of incompetence and lack of capacity. The problem we have is that of corruption. So, instead of focusing on what the issues are, they are majoring on the minor and ‘minoring’ on the major things. It is a misnomer.
“We have seen, in the likes of India, we have seen the guys running what we call Singapore currently. None of them is less than 60. And they’re making a fantastic effort to develop their countries. Age is not a factor. We saw it in America.’’
He further argued, “The truth is this: Age, for me, is not a factor. It’s not the issue. For me, I believe that even age comes with wisdom. So, age should not limit anybody. The lawmakers should focus on the major things and leave things like this so that they don’t appear to be embarrassing themselves, but they are really embarrassing themselves before Nigerians.”
Mark Adebayo, CUPP’s National Publicity Secretary, strongly disagreed with the assumption that leadership quality is linked to age, claiming that Nigeria’s key governance issues are corruption, ineptitude, and a lack of patriotism.
“Even if these individuals were in their thirties, they would still behave the same way—or even worse. It’s not about age; it’s about who they are—evil, opportunistic, corrupt, and incompetent,” Adebayo stated.
He used former US President Joe Biden and Singapore’s founding leader, Lee Kuan Yew, to support his argument that skill, not age, decides excellent leadership.
“Look at Joe Biden in the US—he’s in his late seventies. Even the current US president is 79, yet there’s no debate about age affecting leadership capacity. It’s about personality, competence, education, exposure, and patriotism—qualities that these leaders lack. How old was Lee Kuan Yew when he transformed Singapore? Over 60?
“So, in essence, there’s no need for this constitutional amendment to set an age limit. We’ve had leaders under 50, even under 40. What did they do? The conversation about age limits is irrelevant. Nigeria’s problem is not age—it’s the incompetence, corruption, and lack of patriotism among its leaders,’’ the CUPP scribe declared.
Rufus Aiyenigba, SDP’s National Publicity Secretary, acknowledged the role of youth in administration but argued that leadership remains a function of experience, values, and ability.
“Governance is a function of age in some sense. We have had very young people in leadership positions, from the military era to today. Some performed well, others did not. Age alone does not determine leadership success,” Aiyenigba argued.
He emphasised the importance of an organised framework for evaluating leadership skills, proposing that presidential candidates participate in live debates to measure their intellectual and emotional capacities.
“What is important is the quality a person is bringing. How do we assess capacity and competence? Why don’t we make live debates compulsory for presidential candidates? That way, the public can judge their intelligence, vision, and fitness for leadership,” he suggested.
