Buhari signs new bill into law mandating future presidents and governors to swear-in cabinets within 60 days

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has signed into law the fifth alteration to the 1999 constitution requiring the president and governors send their lists of ministers and commissioners to the legislature within 60 days of being sworn-in.

This bill mandates the president and state governors to submit the names of persons nominated as ministers or commissioners within 60 days of taking the oath of office for confirmation by the senate or state houses of assembly. Other bills signed by the president as part of this package include one that seeks to alter the constitution of to provide for the financial independence of state houses of assembly and state judiciaries.

Others include a bill that seeks to alter the constitution to delete the reference to the provisions of the Criminal Code, Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Act, Criminal Procedure Code or Evidence Act.  This bill seeks to alter the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to exclude the period of intervening events in the computation of time for determining pre-election petitions, election petitions and appeals.

It seeks to alter the constitution to delete the item prisons in the exclusive legislative list and redesignate it as correctional services in the concurrent legislative list. This bill seeks to alter the constitution to move the item railways from the exclusive legislative list to the concurrent legislative list.

Another bill on the list seeks to alter the constitution to allow states generate, transmit and distribute electricity in areas covered by the national grid. Another bill seeks alter the constitution to correct the error in the definition of the boundary of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.