The Justice Alfa Belgore Committee set up by President Goodluck Jonathan to review the report of the 2006 Constitutional Conference and prepare a legislative bill that will be sent to the National Assembly for debate and possible consideration as an amendment to the proposed constitutional review exercise yesterday got highly tensed as members debated the issue of tenure.
The two positions that divided the members at the committees' meeting yesterday was whether to propose a single six-year tenure or maintain the status quo of two terms of four years each. A source at the meeting who confided in Daily Trust said the 21-member committee was sharply divided on the issue.
While members, mainly from the South, supported the idea of a single six-year term, those from the North argued in favour of status quo. After a very heated session that almost turned the hall into a theatre, the meeting adjourned to continue the debate today, the source said. But before then, there was a suggestion that it should be put into vote but it was rejected by the proponents of the single term who feared they could lose. Instead they said it should be referred to a larger committee. But their opponents asked: which committee?
Daily Trust learnt that the committee had earlier thrown out the issue but it resurfaced recently when Professor Oladipo Afolabi moved that in view of the advantages that will come with it, the matter should be reintroduced for debate.
Proponents of the single term were said to have argued that the President and governors who are affected by the proposal will work without being bothered about re-election, adding that the colossal amount of money spent on seeking re-election would be saved.
But opponents of the proposal contended that the leaders in question will always work hard for re-election, pointing out that if the law permits only one term, the officers in question will perform dismally since there is no election ahead for them to present any score card to the electorate.
According to the source, when the issue of a possible third term bid for President Jonathan was tabled, the single term proponents said the president will not be a beneficiary, a position which was countered by the opponents who expressed fears that the president could not be trusted on the matter since the constitution could be amended to accommodate his interest like the present situation in Senegal.
Daily Trust also learnt that Professor Jerry Gana who was at the forefront of the campaign for the single tenure, popularly referred to as Third Term during the Obasanjo regime, has kicked against the idea. He was said to have told the committee that he and others received the bashing of their lives in the previous attempt; therefore he would rather support the status quo.
While inaugurating the committee in November last year, President Goodluck Jonathan gave members a strict directive to only look into areas where consensus had been reached and to avoid controversial areas.
Members of the committee are retired Justice Alfa Belgore (Chairman), Sen. Udoma Udo Udoma (Vice-Chairman), Chief Ebenezer Babatope, Mr. Ledum Mitee, Dr. Abubakar Saddique, Ms. Comfort Obi, Mr. Peter Esele, Prof. Oladipo Afolabi, Prof. Jerry Gana and Tessy Ikimi.
Others are Mr. G.O.S. Miri, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, Ambassador Jibrin Chinade, Alhaji Abubakar Mustapha, Prof. Anya O. Anya, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, Alhaja Salimot Badru, Hajiya Naja'atu Mohammed, Mr. Ferdinand Agu, Alhaji Wakil Mohammed and Halima Alfa.
DailyTrust