Senator Shehu Sani explains why Senate passed ‘Not Too Young To Run’ bill

Lawmaker representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District, Senator Shehu Sani, on Wednesday explained why the Upper Legislative Chamber passed the “Not Too Young To Run” bill.

Sani, who is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign debts, said the Senate passed the bill so that young Nigerians can contest for elective positions.

In a tweet via his twitter handle, the Kaduna-born lawmaker said Nigeria stood to benefit a lot from the fresh ideas of the youth if they occupied public offices.

“We voted yes so that the young can now run for public office for the nation to benefit from their fresh ideas,” Sani wrote.

The much-anticipated bill, seeks age reduction for elective offices in the country.

After an electronic vote, 86 Senators showed their support, while 10 were against it. One lawmaker abstained.

This now means Nigerian youths can contest for President at the age of 35 and Governor or Senators at the age of 30. It is a change from the initial 40 and 35 years limit respectively, which was mandated by the constitution.

The bill also stipulates that 25-year-old people can now legislate in the National and State Assemblies across the country.

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