THE SIX-YEAR SINGLE TERM DEBATE

The challenge of the present system is not in the number of years or terms, but in good governance

The debate on the number of years and terms a Nigerian president or governor should spend in office was reopened last week by the presidential candidate of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general election, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. In a letter to the National Assembly, requesting an amendment to the Constitution to allow for a six-year single term for the president and state governors, Atiku recommended that “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 then urged the federal lawmakers to “amend Section 135(2) to read: ‘Subject to the provisions of subsection (1), the president shall vacate his office at the expiration of a period of six years.’”

 While we have no problem with politicians throwing up ideas that they believe could help enhance democratic culture in Nigeria, we hasten to express our reservations about opening another round of debate on tenure of office, especially at this period. The socio-economic challenge in the country requires serious attention and the current administration should not be given an excuse for work avoidance. Besides, there is nothing new in what Atiku is proposing nor is it a solution for what ails us as a country. In 2011, former President Goodluck Jonathan canvassed it on the basis that it would stem political acrimony during change of government and cut down drastically on costs of electioneering. It did not fly because Nigerians were not persuaded by his argument and the motive.

In September 2017, then Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who also chaired the National Assembly Constitution Review Committee, raised the same issue when he had in audience the ambassador of Mexico to Nigeria. Mexico practices a presidential system of government with a single-term presidency of six years. Nigeria, according to Ekweremadu, was looking at “a possibility of constitutional reform that can guarantee a single term so that the money we spend in running elections and the problem of chief executives concentrating to come back, using resources and instruments of state can be overcome”. That efforts also came to nought.

We understand that those enamoured by a single term for the president and governor may be worried about the trajectory of our democracy, particularly re-election pressures on the system. Campaigns and elections cost the nation a staggering amount of money that could have been put to better use in creating employment for the jobless and building infrastructure across the nation. However, even with all its limitations and imperfections, a two-term of four years each for president and governor, as presently practiced, makes for better accountability than a one term of six years. A single term, according to most analysts, is not only a constraint to continuity and predictability, but a “blow to presidential accountability” at the federal level.

Aside the foregoing, in all the African countries where term limits have been tampered with, it has become an instrument of manipulation by the sitting incumbents who would, to elongate their tenure, suggest going back to the previous arrangement in what has become a vicious cycle. Therefore, what Nigeria sorely lacks and needs, especially at this period, is good governance, not another sterile debate about terms of office. The challenge of our present system is not in the number of years or terms, but rather in lack of good governance across board. The problem is not how long or short the tenure of a president or governor is, but how we elect them and the structure of the institutions.

All factors considered, at a most difficult period for most of our citizens, what Nigerians demand, and deserve, is not the subterfuge of tinkering with the tenure of office holders. What they seek is serious governance anchored on meeting the aspirations of the people, at practically all levels. We must put an end to the obsession on how politicians acquire power or how long they stay in office but rather on how they can deliver the public good.