The House of Representatives, on Thursday, passed for a second reading a bill seeking to amend the 1999 Constitution to limit the age of those contesting the offices of the president or governor to 60 years.

The proposed amendment bill was sponsored by Ikeagwuonu Ugochinyere, representing the Ideato North/Ideato South Federal Constituency in Imo State under the Peoples Democratic Party.

The bill also provided that the candidates must hold at least a bachelor’s degree.

The bill introducing the age limit for the presidency seeks to amend section 131 of the constitution and section 177 for the governorship position.

The bill, if passed into law, will automatically make incumbent President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, who is 72 years old, 78-year-old Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, and Labour Party’s Peter Obi, who is 68 years old, and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party ineligible to contest the 2027 presidential elections.

It will also automatically disqualify some state governors from reelection while the aspiration of some governorship hopefuls will, by then, be up in the air.

The bill will, however, need to be assented to by the president for it to become law, but it remains to be seen if he will disqualify himself from contesting in 2027.