Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has assented to 16 bills that seek to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, covering various matters including changing the names of local government areas, providing financial independence for State Houses of Assembly and State Judiciary, regulating the first session and inauguration of members-elect of the National and State Houses of Assembly, deleting references to certain laws, excluding the period of intervening events in the computation of time for determining pre-election petitions, election petitions and appeals, and moving certain items from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List.
The bills also cover allowing states to generate, transmit and distribute electricity in areas covered by the national grid, requiring the President and Governors to submit the names of persons nominated as Ministers or Commissioners for confirmation, correcting errors in the definition of the boundary of the Federal Capital Territory, and requiring the government to direct its policy towards ensuring the right to food and food security in Nigeria.