The single tenure proposal for the president and governors has continued to be a subject of debate. While some stakeholders describe it as a panacea to problems usually associated with re-election bids, others are of the view that it will encourage dictatorship, FELIX NWANERI reports
Tenure limitation for political office holders has always been a major issue in Nigeria given the fact that struggle for second term is one of the main reasons for the strife that usually characterize elections every four years.
While most politicians and their supporters see quest for public office as war rather than contest of ideas, there is no doubt that elections in Nigeria are at huge cost. The consequence of this, include waste of human and material resources, acrimony and divisiveness.
This, perhaps, informs calls for adoption of the single term option for occupants of the office of president and governors, which according to its advocates, will not only reduce the tension that comes with second term politics, but will help public office holders concentrate on serving the people.
While such call seems to have gained momentum of late, it is however not new. Late former Vice President, Alex Ekwueme, proposed a single five-year tenure for the president and governors at the 1995 Constitutional Conference although the proposal was not adopted. Dr. Goodluck Jonathan also made a similar proposal in 2011, when he was in office as president.
He argued at the time that his suggestion was borne out of patriotic zeal as well as the fact that the two terms provided for the president and governors in the constitution has not guaranteed stability in the polity.
He noted that besides inter and intra-party squabbles, which affect the growth of political parties in the country, acrimony that usually follows the issue of election and re-election at the federal and state levels overheats the polity.
He expressed the belief that adopting a single tenure will help him actualize his transformation agenda, adding that the face of politics in the country will change as holders of executive positions at the federal and state levels will concentrate on governance and development rather than how to secure a second term.
Despite Jonathan’s explanations and assurance on the proposal, then opposition political parties unanimously rebuffed it. They insisted that it was self-serving and secondary given the myriad of problems the country was facing at that time. But Jonathan, who was convinced on the idea, said he had no regrets coming up with the proposal.
According to him, it was meant to stabilise the polity as well as reduce high cost of conducting elections every four years. His words: “I have no regrets over the six-year single term tenure. The issue of single tenure was meant to stabilize the polity as conducting of elections every four years creates a lot tension in the polity.
The cost of election is quite high.” While he noted then that the Federal Government spent N130 billion in the 2011 elections, the 2023 general election cost the country over N300 billion. Besides Ekwueme and Jonathan, a former Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekeweremadu, who made a similar proposal in 2017, advanced that it will facilitate a more rapid rotation of power among the various sections of the country.
His words then: “I support the proposals to transform the current tenure of two four-year terms into a single term of five or six years. Among other advertised benefits, single terms would avoid the distractions, manipulations and divisiveness of re-election campaigns, while facilitating a more rapid circulation or rotation of power among the various groups.”
Ekweremadu, who then urged Nigeria and other African countries to learn from the failures and successes of older democracies, particularly, the Latin American democracies, added: “It is for this reason that the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, which I chaired in 2014, felt that a single term would serve the ends of our current democracy.
Unfortunately, the recommendation failed because ethnic suspicions and parochial interests prevented reasonable and good faith evaluation of our worthy proposal.”
10th House of Reps
While the 7th National Assembly shut down the single term proposal during its review of the constitution, the present 10th House of Representatives in July passed through the first reading a bill, seeking to amend the 1999 Constitution to provide for a single term of six years for the offices of the president, state governors and chairman of local governments to curb wastages occasioned by four years periodic elections.
Every politician is looking for reelection. So, the only way to solve this problem is by giving no incentive to anybody through adoption of one term of six years
The private member bill was sponsored by the member representing Ideato North/Ideato South Federal Constituency, Imo State, Ikenga Ugochinyere and 50 other lawmakers.
The bill is cited as “Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (As amended) (Alteration) Bill 2024.” The proposed bill seeks to alter sections 7, 135, 137, 180 and 182 (1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). Clause 2, particularly seeks to amend section 7 of the Principal Act by inserting a new subsection (5) immediately after the extant subsection 4 and before the extant subsection 5 as follows, “(5) A holder of the office of a Local government chairman shall vacate his office at expiration of a period of six years commencing from the date such holder was elected into office.”
Clause 3 of the bill seeks to amend section 135 subsections (2), (2A) and (3) of the Principal Act by replacing the word “four” with “six” to read: “(2) Subject to the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, the President shall vacate his office at the expiration of a period of six (6) years single tenure commencing from the date, when – (a) in the case of a person first elected as President under this Constitution, he took the Oath of Allegiance and the oath of office; and (b) in any other case, the person last elected to that office under this Constitution took the Oath of Allegiance and oath of office or would, but for his death, have taken such oaths.
“(2A) in the determination of the six years term, where a re-run election has taken place and the person earlier sworn wins the rerun election, the time spent in the office before the date the election was annulled, shall be taken into account.
(3) If the Federation is at war in which the territory of Nigeria is physically involved and the President considers that it is not practicable to hold elections, the National Assembly may by resolution extend the period of six (6) years mentioned in subsection (2) of this section from time to time; but no such extension shall exceed a period of six months at any one time.”
Clause 4 of the bill seeks to amend Section 137 of the Principal Act by deleting paragraph (b) and renumbering appropriately Clause 5 of the proposed legislation l seeks to amend Section 180 of the Principal Act by deleting the extant subsections 2 and 3 and replacing it with new subsections 2 and 3.
It reads: “(2) Subject to the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, the governor shall vacate his office at the expiration of a period of six (6) years single tenure commencing from the date when — (a) in the case of a person first elected as governor under this constitution, he took the Oath of Allegiance and oath of office; and (b) the person last elected to that office took the Oath of Allegiance and oath of office or would, but for his death, have taken such oaths.
“(3) If the Federation is at war in which the territory of Nigeria is physically involved and the President considers that it is not practicable to hold elections, the National Assembly may by resolution extend the period of six years mentioned in subsection (2) of this section from time to time, but no such extension shall exceed a period of six months at any one time. Clause 5 of the bill seeks to amend Section 182 (1) by deleting paragraph (b) and renumbering appropriately.”
Makinde’s proposal
Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, who contributed to the debate in August last year, expanded the coast by proposing that tenure for legislative seats (national and state Assembly) should also be limited to a single term.
According to Makinde, a six year single tenure for the president, governors, national and state Assembly members, will give holders of such offices enough time to do everything they have in mind within a single term instead of thinking about a second term.
The governor made the call, while speaking at a dinner in honour of the National Executive of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), to flag off the group’s retreat in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital,.
His words: “Here in Nigeria, every four years, just like most democracies around the world, we come together as a nation to choose our leaders and I also listened to our Baba, the National President of PFN, he said the leadership of PFN has just finished the first half of its tenure. I just learnt that there is no second term in PFN. Maybe, we need to learn one or two things from that arrangement for our nation. “I am a supporter of a single term structure.
As a matter of fact, I didn’t want a second term and I told the fathers of faith that four years may not be long enough to do everything that you want to do, but it’s long enough to make your own impact and go your own way. But maybe, if we have the opportunity to discuss this, I think a five or six-year single term will really be enough for most of us to do whatever it is that we are supposed to do.”
Atiku supports move
Rekindling the single term as the 10th National Assembly embarks on another review of the constitution, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, also proposed rotation of the presidential power among the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria.
Atiku, who was the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 elections made the proposals in a memorandum dated August 30 to the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, who also chairs the Senate Committee on Constitution Review.
The former vice-president seeks amendment to section 130 (1) of the Constitution to read as follows: “The office of the president shall rotate among the six geopolitical zones of the federation on a single term of six years flowing between the North and South on the single term of six years respectively.”
He also wants an amendment to section 135 (2) of the Constitution to read thus: “Subject to the provisions of the subsection (1), the President shall vacate his office at the expiration of a period of six years commencing from the date.”
According to the explanatory note covering the proposals by the former vice-president, the amendments that he seeks in the review of the constitution aim at the following:
These amendments seek to raise the standard of the educational qualification of political office seekers, ensure an end to a violent takeover of political parties thereby strengthening the internal structure of political parties and reduce the tendencies of political parties to breach the constitution, electoral act, rules and guidelines made thereunder, and the constitution of the political party.
While Atiku is of the view that “the implication of the above is that political parties are allowed very wide latitude to breach the perimeter of laws on elections.
Such indiscipline by political parties and infidelity to the electoral parameters yield chaos in the system,” he maintained that the amendments he proposed will enthrone the discipline that is needed in a democracy.
The 2014 National Conference also recommended similar power rotation. It also recommended that the governorship seat should rotate among the three senatorial districts in each of the 36 states.
We shouldn’t see it that the polity will always get heated up, whenever people are seeking for a second term. It is just that we have not been able to come up with a mechanism that will sufficiently guarantee that votes of Nigerians count
Stakeholders differ
Expectedly divergent views have trailed the various proposals for single term. While some stakeholders said it is worth giving a trial, others are of the view that the disadvantages outweigh the advantages.
Those in support of the proposal, not only described the idea as brilliant, but added that additional measures such as strict adherence to the rule of law, can mitigate second-term desperation, reduce distractions to governance, conserve funds and improve the quality of elections.
A former governor of Abia State and senator representing Abia North Senatorial District, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, who expressed support for a single term of six years for presidents and state governors, said such arrangement will not only reduce cost of governance but also foster rapid development.
Noting that the current system of two tenures of four years each is expensive and usually distracts elected officials from concentrating on governance, Kalu said:
“When I was governor, I called for a single term of six years. Remember, President Olusegun Obasanjo said I was after him. That was part of the beginning of our quarrel. I advocated for that because of the cost of going for re-election, because of managing the economy. Because when people become governors or president, their eyes are on re-election.
“They are not even thinking about what people will do or what people will get. Every politician is looking for re-election. So, the only way to solve this problem is by giving no incentive to anybody through adoption one term of six years. It will go a long way in boosting performance because most of people think they need to make money for re-election.
In my minority opinion, I don’t know the majority opinion. I think most politicians are looking forward to the next election.” Global Initiatives for Good Governance (GIGG), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), which backed Atiku’s position on the single term proposal, said that rotational presidency will reshape Nigeria and quicken development across the country.
Director-General of tGIGG, Dr. Emeka Kalu, who spoke on behalf of the group, also posited that the proposal, if adopted, will ensure that all the six geo-political zones of the country have access to the presidency.
He, however, insisted that his group’s position is neither a subtle campaign to popularise Atiku’s interest nor making a case for his 2027 presidential ambition, but aimed at ensuring a better Nigeria for all. “If actualised, Atiku’s proposal for constitutional amendment to capture rotational presidency between the Southern and Northern regions will enable each of the six geo-political zones the power to produce the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,”
Kalu said, while appealing to the National Assembly to consider the proposal. Noting that marginalisation, a poorly implemented federal character principle and agitations for equity have continued to spark civil unrest in the country, thereby leading to the various violent cases of civil disorder, terrorism and other pockets of criminalities,
Kalu averred that single term and rotational presidency can help to nip the crises in the bud, while also birthing a new Nigeria, where peaceful co-existence, unity and mutual relationship across tribal lines could be achieved.
However, members of another political school, who dismissed the single term proposal, expressed the view that it will not only encourage corruption but also discourage good performance as it lacks the basic elements of motivation and incentives for performance needed in management of human affairs.
Members of this school added that there are more pressing issues plaguing the country for anybody to continue to dissipate time and energy on the single tenure debate.
According to them, if the constitution must be amended, it should be to restructure Nigerian to enthrone true federalism. Founding National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Chekwas Okorie, who spoke on the issue, told New Telegraph that the proposal is completely at variance with the presidential system as practiced in the United States (U.S.), where Nigeria copied her system of government from.
His words: “Every option has its own merits and demerits. Late former Vice President Alex Ekwueme’s proposal was more acceptable and had more sound reasoning based on our experience as a nation. He proposed that were would be six vice-presidents to serve with a president, who will have a five-year single term.
He further proposed that if anything happens to a president in office whether as a result of death or resignation, the vice president from his geopolitical zone will complete his tenure and that power should rotate among the zones. “Ekwueme’s proposal was based on rotation of power and he didn’t say that it should be what Nigeria should do forever.
He proposed that by the time all the six geopolitical zones would have produced a president, who would serve for a single term of five years within a period of 30 years, it would be completely erased in the sense that Nigeria would have attained such nationhood that where a presidential candidate comes from will no longer matter.
“That was the idealistic context of Ekwueme’s proposal, which for me, made a lot of sense. If it was adopted at that time, by now, we would have gone past the issue of zoning. The one Governor Makinde talked about is basically based on, may be, reduction of cost of elections and the belief that elected public office holders will put in their best within the single term tenure.
“However, it doesn’t work like that. What if somebody, who is going there for one term, decides that he or she will steal whatever that is available to be stolen, knowing that he or she is not coming back? That is the down side of the option.”
Okorie, also said that proponents of a single term, also seem not to have considered the other argument that someone who is elected for a single term may turn into a dictator or what he described as “president or governor-do-nothing” given that he is not going to seek re-election.
Speaking further, he said that a single term will deny the electorate the right and desire to vote out a non performing governor or president earlier than desired. “A governor or president who is voted out after the first term is an eloquent testimony of non-performance and such bad record will continue to haunt the person.
So, the fear of losing re-election will induce performance in a public office holder, who ordinarily will not have done anything. “Conversely, a single tenure will manacle the electorate from enjoying the good wto ork of a performing governor or president.
Having said that, I want to add that the two-term tenure is working in the United States, where we copied our presidential system of government from, so we shouldn’t see it that the polity will always get heated up, whenever people are seeking for a second term.
It is just that we have not been able to come up with a mechanism that will sufficiently guarantee that votes of Nigerians count.” While the varying positions on the single term proposal have their respective merits and demerits, there is no doubt that politics is bound to be contentious, but to mitigate against acrimony, the various political parties should ensure internal democracy, which in turn guarantees free and fair elections.
