BY Dyepkazah Shibayan
The national assembly has directed Amos Ojo, its clerk, to transmit a bill which approves a uniform retirement age for judicial officers to President Muhammadu Buhari for assent.
The constitutional bill is seeking to extend the retirement age of high court judges from 65 to 70 years.
The bill was passed on Tuesday after Ovie Omo-Agege, deputy senate president, sponsored a motion on the matter.
The motion was entitled ‘Passage of constitution (fifth) alteration bill No. 20 (Uniform Retirement Age for Judicial Officers), 2023″.
While moving the motion, Omo-Agege, chair of the senate ad hoc committee on the amendment of the constitution, said the Sokoto state assembly had only just forwarded its resolution on the bill.
“Recall that the Sokoto state house of assembly was among the state houses of assembly that were yet to forward their resolution,” he said.
“The Sokoto state house of assembly has forwarded its resolution; and convinced that with the approval of Sokoto state house of assembly, the constitution (Fifth Alteration) Bill No. 20 (Uniform Retirement Age for Judicial Officers), has met the provisions of section 9(2) of the constitution, for passage.”
The motion was approved after it was put to a vote by Senate President Ahmad Lawan.
Lawan said the bill, if approved and signed into law by the president, would “be part of our legacy as the ninth national assembly”.
The retirement age of justices in the court of appeal and supreme court is already pegged at 70.
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