House Of Reps Advances Bill For Ministerial, Commissioner Nominees To Include Portfolios

The House of Representatives has moved forward with a bill that, if passed, would require the President and State Governors to attach specific portfolios to their lists of ministerial and commissioner nominees.

The proposed legislation, which advanced to its second reading, aims to enhance the scrutiny process by allowing lawmakers to conduct more focused evaluations of nominees based on their intended roles.

Leading the debate on the bill, Rep. Okechukwu Dibiagwu argued that assigning portfolios in advance would enable the National Assembly and state assemblies to assess the suitability of nominees in a more targeted and effective manner.

“This bill will ensure nominees are evaluated in line with the specific responsibilities they will undertake,” Dibiagwu noted, emphasizing the importance of transparency in the confirmation process.

In a related move, the House also progressed a separate bill that proposes raising the retirement age for health workers across Nigeria.

The bill, which similarly advanced to its second reading, aims to retain experienced healthcare professionals within the workforce for extended periods, addressing the challenges of manpower shortages in the sector.

The Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) provided a brief update on the legislative advancements on its official X account on Friday.

It read, “The House of Representatives has passed for second reading a bill seeking mandatory inclusion of portfolios in the nomination list of Ministers and Commissioners by the President or State Governors.

“In his lead debate, Sponsor of the Bill Representative Okechukwu Dibiagwu argued that attaching portfolios to the list of nominations for ministerial positions will enhance thorough scrutiny of nominees by lawmakers at the national and state assemblies.

“Another bill proposing an extension of the retirement age of health workers in Nigeria also scaled second reading.”