By Pascal Ibe
On Monday, a group of thirty-five House of Representatives members proposed a bill for a six-year single term for Nigeria’s presidents.
IA Rep member, kenga Ugochinyere announced the decision on Monday during a press conference in Abuja.
He told newsmen that the bill, which seeks to give a single term to the president and governors, has passed its first reading.
In this feature, Pascal Ibe breaks down the details of this bill.
First, this bill seeks to amend the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to provide for a single term of six 6 years for the offices of the President and State Governors to achieve a reduction in govt spending and wastage, ensure political inclusion and participation, ensure national stability, reduce political instability, distractions and wastage associated with re elections activities ,recognize the rotation of the offices of the President and Governors. Between North/South and further down among the geographical zones once it comes back to each of the zone. The proposed amendment also provides for all election to be held on a single day to help save cost and ensure mass participation and citizens vigilance.
This bill seeks to amend the electoral act 2022 to provide that ELECTIONS to the offices of president, state governors , national assembly, state houses of assembly and fct local govt council shall be conducted simultaneously on the same date which is to be determined by inec in consultation with the national assembly.
A bill seeking to amend the electoral act 2022 to provide for the hearing and determination of all election petitions by the respective election petitions tribunal and the appellate courts in accordance with specified timelines before swearing in of SUCCESSFUL candidates at election, relocation of voting in areas deemed unsafe due to total breakdown of security , 14 days mandatory deadline for issuance of certified true copies of election materials to petitioners after the announcements of results and one imprisonment for non compliance against the REC or any concerned INEC official, seven years imprisonment without option of fine of any election returning officer who declares a false result, results not uploaded to the server or via INEC electronic transmission devices including results that the accreditation figures didn’t tally with the number of votes cast. Also included , Conclusion of all pre election matters 30 days before the date of the election and ability of aggrieved candidates who lost election as a result of false declarations to bring action in court against the concerned electoral officer for damages and state prosecution.
Why We Proposed The Bill — Ugochinyere
Giving more insight into the bill’s content, the chief sponsor, Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere addressing journalists with other lawmakers (Hon.Aliyu mustapha, Danga Abdulmaleek, Prof Paul Nnamchi,Mathew Nwaogu, Abiante Awaji Inombek, Midala Usman , Sagir Koki at a press conference, said that the sole intent of this bill is to enact legislation that will make provisions for single term of 6 years, the rotation of political power amongst the geo-political zones, for Presidency, and Senatorial zones for the governorship in the general elections plus conducting all elections in one day to save cost and ensure higher voters turnout and election credibility.
He lamented that Nigeria is among several countries in Africa confronted by threats of political instability and social conflicts, hence the situation led to political actors in the country canvassing for the adoption of rotational and single tenure presidency as a potent political arrangement that can guarantee stability.
Ugochinyere called for support for the bill, saying that Nigeria should emulate Mexico as they practice a presidential system of government like Nigeria, but with a single-term presidency of six years.
In a very daring and laudable move, several lawmakers led by Hon. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, proposed critical bills that call for restructuring of Nigeria’s governance and electoral systems.
The first of the bills is a constitutional alteration bill to provide for the rotation of executive powers (Presidency) among the six geopolitical zones to ensure equal representation. For the lawmakers, this will ensure equal representation, national stability, and inclusion of all regions in the country.
The bill will also help reduce government spending and wastage on elections and achieve efficiency in governance since elected leaders will not be derailed or distracted by any re-election agenda.
A very important aspect of this bill is that it will also ensure that the Constitution recognizes the division of Nigeria into six geopolitical zones, and for the position of the Presidency, the rotation of power between the North and the South shall be clearly done amongst the six-geopolitical zones to ensure that no zone is left out in six successions.
Another critical bill by the group of lawmakers is the bill to amend the relevant sections of the Electoral Act to ensure that all elections (presidential, governorship, National Assembly, state houses of Assembly, and local governments) are held on the same day. Stating that elections remain the only democratic means of bringing back sanity in Nigeria’s polity, the bill will address violence, and corruption in our electoral processes.
Another bill on their electoral reforms objectives proposed a mandatory electronic transmission of results and accreditation of voters, outlawing the use of manual means completely.
This set of bills by the lawmakers have passed through the first reading at the 10th House of Representatives; this shows commitment on their part to see the reforms achieved.
They have now called on stakeholders, advocacy groups, and the general public to partner with them by lending their voices to ensure that the bills do not only become laws but are implemented effectively to achieve its stated objectives on Nigeria’s governance restructuring.
