Senate Tightens Rules, Bars Single-Term Lawmakers from Top Leadership Roles

The Senate has amended its standing orders to restrict eligibility for key leadership positions to lawmakers who have completed at least two consecutive terms in the chamber, effectively shutting out first-term senators from contesting for top offices.

The amendment was adopted on Tuesday during plenary presided over by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, following a voice vote after a closed-door session that lasted about three hours.

Under the revised rules, only senators with a minimum of eight years’ uninterrupted service will be eligible to contest for presiding offices such as Senate President and Deputy Senate President. The change also extends to principal offices, including Senate Leader, Chief Whip, Minority Leader and their deputies.

The decision comes amid growing political calculations ahead of the 2027 elections, with reports that former lawmakers such as Hope Uzodimma, Ifeanyi Okowa and Ovie Omo-Agege may be weighing a return to the upper chamber and possible bids for its leadership.

Details of the amendment show that nominations for presiding offices must strictly follow ranking, which prioritises former presiding officers, principal officers, returning senators and former members of the House of Representatives, while first-time senators will only be considered where others are unavailable.

In addition, Order 5 now mandates that no senator shall be eligible to contest for any principal office without completing two consecutive terms immediately before nomination, a move that narrows the field for leadership contests in the 11th National Assembly.

The new provisions effectively exclude incoming senators who were not members of both the 9th and 10th assemblies from vying for leadership roles.

The amendment, however, did not pass without resistance. Senator Adams Oshiomhole was the lone dissenting voice during the adoption, raising concerns over the process.

“This was not what we agreed at the closed-door session,” he protested, as attempts to raise a point of order were overruled by the presiding officer.

Before the latest changes, any ranking senator; defined as one who had served at least one term could contest for presiding positions.

Beyond leadership eligibility, the Senate also introduced adjustments to its legislative procedures. Committee meetings are now fixed between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. from Monday to Friday, while plenary sessions will hold on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., unless extended.

Other revisions include permitting presiding officers and nominees undergoing screening to drink water during plenary, setting the number of committee members between seven and 25, and limiting each senator to a maximum of seven committees.

The Senate also expanded oversight responsibilities to include regional development commissions across the six geopolitical zones and approved the creation of a new committee on reparation and repatriation.

Following the adoption, Akpabio directed the Clerk of the Senate to update the standing rules in line with the new amendments.