A presidential aspirant, Julius Musa Lagware has asked a Federal High Court in Abuja to stop the National Assembly (NASS) from proceeding with its proposed bill seeking to increase the minimum qualification for those aspiring to contest the presidential election and other offices.
Lagware, in a fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by his lawyer, Pius Danba Pius, wants among others, an order of perpetual injunction restraining the lawmakers from taking any action on the proposed bill seeking to raise the educational qualification for anybody seeking to contest election to the office of President, Governor, Senator and House of Representatives from school certificate to the degree certificate.
The proposed bill has moved to the second reading in the upper chamber of Nigeria’s legislature.
The plaintiff in a supporting affidavit further stated that having struggled to acquire his secondary certificate and was desirous of further education, but held down by poverty, his inability to acquire a degree certificate should not constitute a bridge to violate his right to contest political office and aspire to lead the country.
Through his lawyer, the plaintiff argued that the bill is self-seeking and targeted at denying the children of the poor the right to contest as most of them could not afford university education but only the children of the national assembly members can afford it.
The case which listed National Assembly, House of Representatives and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) as respondents is yet to be assigned to any judge for hearing.
