The House of Representatives has passed a bill allowing independent candidates to run for public offices in Nigeria. This bill, introduced by Rep. Akin Rotimi, aims to change the 1999 Constitution to let people who aren’t affiliated with political parties contest for positions in presidential, governorship, National Assembly, State Assembly, and local government elections.
The bill requires independent candidates to gather signatures from at least 10% of registered voters in their area to qualify. For a chairmanship election, candidates need signatures from two-thirds of the wards, while councillorship candidates must collect signatures from two-thirds of the polling units in their ward.
Rep. Rotimi believes the bill will improve democracy by giving more people the chance to run for office without needing to be sponsored by a political party.
