Ekweremadu calls for extension of Jonathan’s tenure to 2017 The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has said that the adoption of a single term for elected public officers remains the most viable solution to Nigeria’s perennial succession crisis. Ekweremadu, who is also the Chairman, Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, said this in an interview with journalists, in Lagos, on Saturday. He was in Lagos to interact with the media on the progress of work on the constitution amendment exercise. The legislator observed that it was sad the nation failed to seize the opportunity offered by the committee during its public sittings. He explained that several other countries especially in Latin America used the method to stabilise their democracies. Ekweremadu said, “When the matter came up at the level of our committee, we were mindful of the political atmosphere. We also tried to draw inspiration from what happened in other jurisdictions, especially within the Latin America in the 1970s. “They had the kind of circumstances we now find ourselves in, where the transition from one President to another was a major issue and was causing all sorts of crises in their region. “So, they decided to amend their constitution at that time to create a single term tenure in many of those countries in order to stabilize their democracy. And it was for a transition period. Now most of them are amending their constitution to go back to two terms, after they had stabilised the system. “So, we felt it was something we could recommend to our country. And if you look at what is going on now, all the problem we are having in Nigeria, the New PDP, the APC, and all that, they are all issues of succession. And I believe that the matter is something that could be revisited.” Ekweremadu admitted that his committee made a mistake by expecting incumbents to willingly sacrifice their second term ambitions to enable the idea of a single term to succeed. According to him, the clause that incumbents should not benefit from the provision armed a coalition of forces to shoot the idea down when his committee recommended it Ekweremadu added that “Let everybody complete the four-year tenure for which he or she has been elected. Then we can, through the Doctrine of Necessity do some kind of a transition of two years. “In which case, those who are now the present occupants like the President and the governors will now do maybe another two years that will end in 2017.” He suggested that National Assembly elections should be held in 2015 while elections into executive positions should be held in 2017. This, he argued, would give the Independent National Electoral Commission enough time to prepare for the presidential and governorship elections. He cited examples with elections in the United States of America and Senegal as well as several other African nations. Ekweremadu expressed optimism that the idea could work if the stakeholders in the polity come together to give it life.
Posted on: Mon, 02 Dec 2013 11:37:29 +0000
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