The Nigerian Senate has not lost sight on its bid to legislate on a six-year single tenure for the office of the president of the country and governor of any State.
This, the lawmakers say, they will vigorously pursue immediately after the 2027 general election.
According to them, the proposed legislation, if scales through, will erode the burden, anxiety and waste of funds to prosecute second term election and promote focus on good governance.
Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, has disclosed plans to sponsor a bill seeking to introduce a single six-year tenure for presidents and governors after the forthcoming election.
Bamidele says the proposed legislation will be among the first bills he intends to introduce when the next Senate is inaugurated, arguing that it would enable elected leaders to focus on governance rather than re-election campaigns.
Speaking during an interview with reporters in his office on Tuesday, the lawmaker said the current two-term arrangement often compels officeholders to devote a significant portion of their first term to political calculations and preparations for re-election.
“One of the first set of bills that I look forward to moving, by God’s grace, when we come back for the 11th Senate, God willing, is for a bill that will only make it possible for anyone who wants to be president of this country, or governor in any part of this country, to spend only one term of six years,” he said.
According to him, a single tenure wii eliminate distractions associated with seeking a second term.
“So that you don’t even have to worry about wasting almost one and a half years of your first term thinking and struggling and looking forward to how you’ll be re-elected,” Bamidele said.
“If you know you are there for six years, only one tenure, you put in your best from day one. You know this is the only chance that you have.”
The senate leader acknowledges that the proposal may not enjoy universal support but maintained that lawmakers have a responsibility to initiate reforms they believe would strengthen governance.
“That’s my opinion. It doesn’t mean everybody will agree with me. But it also does not mean that I am prevented from doing that because that has not been the law,” he said.
Bamidele stresses that laws are meant to evolve in response to changing realities and public needs.
“The essence of law, the essence of parliament, is that laws are like human beings; they grow,” he added.
