The 1999 Constitution

Section 52 (1)

Every member of the Senate or the House of Representatives (i.e. National Assembly) shall, before taking his seat, declare his assets and liabilities as prescribed in this Constitution and subsequently take and subscribe the Oath of Allegiance and the oath of membership as prescribed in the Seventh Schedule to this Constitution before the President of the Senate or, as the case may be, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, but a member may before taking the oaths take part in the election of a President and a Deputy President of the Senate, as the case may be, or a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Basically, every elected member of the Senate or House of Representatives must declare his assets in the prescribed form and take the oath of allegiance (to Nigeria) and the oath of membership (of the legislature) before the President of the Senate or the Speaker of the House of Representatives. But before this second oath is done, the Arm must elect their President and Deputy (Senate) or Speaker and Deputy (House of Representatives)

Section 52 (2)

The President and Deputy President of the Senate and the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives shall declare their assets and liabilities as prescribed in this Constitution and subsequently take and subscribe the Oath of Allegiance and the oath of membership prescribed as aforesaid before the Clerk of the National Assembly.

The Senate President and his deputy and the Speaker of the House of Representatives and his deputy will declare their assets and then take their own oaths of allegiance and membership before the Clerk of the National Assembly. Essentially, this happens before the preceding section.

Section 53 (1)

At any sitting of the National Assembly –

(a) in the case of the Senate, the President of the Senate shall preside, and in his absence the Deputy President shall preside; and

(b) in the case of the House of Representatives, the Speaker of that House shall preside, and in his absence the Deputy Speaker shall preside.

Essentially, at any sitting of the Senate, the President shall head or preside over it but in a case where he is absent, his Deputy President shall preside; this also applies in the case of the House of Representatives, it shall be the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker where the Speaker is absent.

Section 53 (2)

At any joint sitting of the Senate and House of Representatives –

(a) the President of Senate shall preside, and in his absence the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall preside; and

(b) in the absence of the persons mentioned in paragraph (a) of this subsection, the Deputy President of the Senate shall preside, and in his absence the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives shall preside.

Essentially, at any joint sitting of the Senate and the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate or the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall preside; if either is unavailable, then the Deputy President of the Senate shall preside, if the person is also unavailable, the Deputy Speaker shall preside.

Section 53 (3)

In the absence of the persons mentioned in the foregoing provisions of this section, such member of the Senate or the House of Representatives or of the joint sitting, as the case may be, as the Senate or the House of Representatives or the joint sitting may elect for that purpose shall preside.

If either the Senate President or his Deputy or Speaker of the House of Representatives or his Deputy is unavailable to preside at a joint sitting of the Legislature, then those present shall elect a person who shall preside over that joint sitting only.

Section 47, 48 and 49 of the 1999 Constitution: Composition and Staff of National Assembly