N’Assembly, govs plot against six-year single term

[TGD]

STRONG indications have emerged that the proposed single term of six years for the Executive at the federal and state levels may go the way of the aborted third term proposal under the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo, as state governors and their federal legislators have stepped up efforts to ensure that the bill does not see the light of the day.

The Guardian learnt that some governors, mostly those who are serving their first terms in office have moved against the proposal and have started mobilising their members in the National Assembly.

According to sources in the Nigerian Governors' Forum (NGF), the issue was discussed by the state helmsmen at their last meeting in Abuja but they agreed that no action should be taken until the bill is forwarded to the National Assembly.

"We are worried like every other Nigerian because we feel that there is no need for such a proposal now. Nothing is wrong with the system we are operating now. Implementing that system will definitely create a lot of problems and we think we can avoid that trouble by allowing the system we are running to continue'', a source at the forum said.

In an interview with The Guardian in Abuja, Senator Akpor Pius Ewherido of Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) representing Delta Central in Delta State, categorically said that the bill which is being proposed by the Executive  would not be passed because it would create more  problems in the country.

The lawmaker posited that most of the elected officers  were encouraged to work because they would go back to the electorate to seek  a fresh mandate and if the single term of six years was adopted, it would discourage performance.

"I have always said before and I will say it again that I don't seem to agree with a single term of six years for a few reasons. First is that the only time that Nigerians can hold  their elected persons accountable is during the period they seek re-election. I don't think it would be right to deny them that opportunity. The expectation that you will still go back to the electorate makes you to perform. You try to work as hard as possible. You try to be as dutiful as much as possible in the interest of your people so that you will be re-elected. But as soon as Nigerians know that you don't have recourse to the people any more, this tenure finishes and that is the end of it, the tendency is for them to be reckless. The tendency is for them to do things according to their whims and caprices instead of remembering that at the end of the day, they have a constituency that brought them to their offices and they have to render account. So, I don't think we are at that point yet where we can operate that single term of six years'', he said.

He added that some of the serving   state governors were elected based on the existing four-year tenure with a possibility of a second term of another four years and therefore, amending the constitution to provide for a single term of six years could make them spend a total of 10 years in office.

"Besides, a lot of issues will arise. There are governors who are in power now for a four-year tenure. Constitutionally, they are entitled  to  another four-year term if they so desire. If you amend the constitution now, those governors will spend 10 years in office. I don't know whether people have looked at that possibility. Because you cannot deprive them of their constitutional rights. As at the time they contested for the first tenure, they had a right to it by virtue of the provisions of the constitution. You cannot say that they cannot benefit from the new one. So for governors in their first term, a real problem will arise. It means that you want to give 10 years to some persons which will bring the issue of justice, equity and fair play to the front burner'', he submitted.

In addition, Ewherido said that if adopted, the system would work to the disadvantage of geo-political zones in the country because of the extant zoning and rotation formula.

His words: "If you look at the way we operate in this country, zoning and rotation have now become accepted norms or practices. A lot of geo-political zones will feel short-changed. Some zones, take South-West, had Obasanjo as president for eight years. The new proposal will now give some geo-political zones six years, a shortage of two years. I referred to the issues of equity, justice and fair play. So, if you elect a new president, for instance, from another geopolitical zone for six years, the tendency is for people to ask why eight years somewhere and six years now? It will bring about so many complications. In terms of practicability, a lot of problems will arise. So, I don't think that it is something that we should go for now.''

Speaking at the opening of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Port Harcourt last  week, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, represented by a member of the chamber, Emmanuel Jimeh, said that the House of Representatives would not allow the bill to be passed because of the obvious consequence, reiterating that  "the bill will die on arrival.''  

He, however, said that the bill, if forwarded to the House,  would be subjected to the usual rituals before the final decision would be taken.

The Guardian