The Presidency on Friday said the clause
in the proposed constitution amendment, which seeks to exclude
President Goodluck Jonathan and some governors from participating in the
2015 elections, would fail.
Special Adviser to the President on
Political Matters, Dr. Ahmed Gulak, said this in an exclusive interview
with one of our correspondents in Abuja.
Gulak said it would be unfair for the
National Assembly to make an amendment that would short-change those
elected under a constitution that allows them to contest two terms of
four years each.
He said, “It is not a fair amendment to
target a particular group of people. That proposal will not scale
through because Nigerians are wiser.
“You can’t short-change some people in
the name of amending the constitution. I am sure there will be some
considerations and the proposal will fail.
“The President and some governors were
elected under a constitution that allows them to contest two terms of
four years each. You can’t change the rule midway.”
Similarly, the Arewa Consultative Forum
opposed the six year-single tenure for the president and governors as
proposed by the Senate Committee on the Review of the Constitution.
The apex northern socio-political body cautioned members of the National Assembly against adopting it.
It argued that adopting such a provision
would be counterproductive because it was capable of impeding good
governance in the country.
National Publicity Secretary of the ACF, Mr. Anthony Sani, told SUNDAY PUNCH,
in Kaduna, that apart from good governance, the proposal lacked the
basic elements of motivation and incentives needed in the management of
human affairs.
He said, “ACF’s position on single
tenure for president and governors is that it is counter productive,
because it has no incentives to motivate for excellence.
“This is because the good, the not-so-good and the feckless are grouped together without any exception.
“All management of human affairs which
has no way of rewarding excellent performance cannot reasonably be
expected to be effective.
“In multiple tenure, reelection is often
a form of reward for good performance. And if the president and
governors know that they are all entitled to only six years whether they
perform or not, they will concentrate on the pillage of public
treasury, which is counterproductive.”
Opposition political parties shared similar views.
In separate interviews, the Action
Congress of Nigeria and the Congress for Progressive Change, said two
terms of four years each as was currently being practised, was better.
National Publicity Secretary of the ACN,
Lai Mohammed, said, “The position of our party has been consistent, two
terms of four years each.
“There is nothing wrong with the system.
What does the preclusion of Jonathan and governors from participating
from the 2015 elections got to do with anything?
“Six years is a long time in politics.
The beauty of democracy is not only in the ability of the people to
participate in voting in a people to govern them but also in their power
to vote out non-performing governments.
“What prevents somebody who comes in on
the six-year single term bait from seeking to make it three terms of six
years each? What stops another National Assembly coming in to change
the constitution again?
“Without prejudice to what they are
proposing, we are of the view that the clause dealing with the issue of
tenure is fine as it is.”
Speaking in a similar vein, his
counterpart in the CPC, Mr. Rotimi Fahakin, said, “You know the
President who started this tenure thing probably thought he would
benefit from it. He has been told bluntly by the Senate, that this is
not going to be.
“For us, I wouldn’t really know the problem this amendment to the constitution hopes to solve in our political system.
“What we have always known is that the people should always be the fulcrum of any political decision we want to take.
“The current two terms of four years
each if properly used like it is done in advanced democracies like the
United States, is good enough for our own environment; in that it keeps
the people as the focus of the democratic value of our political
system.”
Also speaking on the issue, the Convener
of the Coalition of Northern Politicians, Academics, Professionals and
Businessmen, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, said there was “absolutely nothing
wrong with the constitutional provision of two terms of four years each
as is currently the case.”
He accused the ruling Peoples Democratic Party of nursing a sinister agenda by trying to push through a single six-year term.
He said, “If the PDP has its way, it
will not allow elections for any serious position. Democrats, true
democrats should cherish and welcome elections because PDP is not
democratic; you see the party finding a way to trigger a national crisis
to avoid elections.”
Meanwhile, the Ijaw Youth Council has
said President Jonathan must contest the 2015 election irrespective of
the recommendations of the committee.
The IYC insisted that the President’s aspiration for a second term in office must not be scuttled by the Senate.
“We are saying that Jonathan must run in
2015 because he is a saleable candidate for us. The National Assembly
should not do anything that will affect the second term ambition of
President Jonathan and others who wish to contest in 2015.
“Though we cannot compel Nigerians to
vote for him (Jonathan), we are appealing to Nigerians to vote for him
in the next dispensation. He must contest no matter the recommendations
from that committee.”
In a related development, Second
Republic presidential candidate, Dr. Tunji Braithwaite, has called on
the National Assembly to stop the ongoing constitution amendment. He
said it would not address the current “imbalance, inequality, injustice
and many other problems in the country.”
In a statement in Lagos on Saturday, the
lawyer said the Federal Government should rather call a sovereign
national conference to fashion out a new constitution that would meet
the yearnings of the people.
The Senate Committee on Review of the
Constitution, had recommended a vnon-renewable single six-year tenure
for the office of President, Vice-President, governors and their
deputies.
The committee’s recommendation also
disqualifies President Jonathan and incumbent governors from benefiting
from the new arrangement if the recommendation becomes law.
While shedding light on the
recommendation, the Chairman of the committee, Senator Ike Ekweremadu,
had on Thursday in Abuja said if the recommendation on single tenure
succeeded, the President and some governors would sacrifice their
ambitions in 2015.
“We don’t want Nigerians to say that we
have colluded with the executive to give tenure elongation to the
President and certain governors. That means somebody instead of staying
for eight years; he will now be staying for 10 years.
“I think it will be
easier for someone to deal with the issue of making a sacrifice than for
someone to have the period for 10 years; I am not sure what our
colleagues will say. If they say that those who are there now should
benefit, that is fine. Those who are currently serving should be able to
excuse themselves and say we make this sacrifice on behalf of the
system,” he said.Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
These useless so call law makers are very useless. They leave the issue of corruption and concentrate on another thing that is entirely not relevant. If punishment for corruption is clearly spelt out, irrespective of the no of years one spend in the office, he is bound to perform brcause you know quite well that stealing govt money is not possible. God will punish all of them
ReplyDelete"And if the president and governors know that they are all entitled to only six years whether they perform or not, they will concentrate on the pillage of public treasury."
ReplyDeleteWhat is to stop the Governors from clearing the State treasury during the 2nd and Final term?
Let me explain that like Dr. Ahmed Gulak I am also opposed to the proposed constitutional amendments to change from 2 terms of 4 years each to one of 6 years.
Nigeria is a special case as the type of people we have running for elections will steal to enrich themselves no matter what system is in place, It is therefore the duty of the State to ensre that people like Obori and Alams are not allowed to be in position of power. Vetting Ibori for example would have been very easy for the State security if the will was there. Afterall, Ibori was dismissed for staeling from his work place in London and also served a term of imprisonment in the UK for another stealing offence.
Sometimes I just wonder what we really want in this country.See who is talking of performance and merit? Since when has the North accepted merit as a basis for national development? Since when has this nation and its pretenders used merit as a basis to reward performance? What are our core values as a people and as a nation except to corner, plunder and pocket the resources of this country. Single tenor may not be a solution to our national problems right now but it is a statement that we need to look in the mirror and accept certain realities.
ReplyDelete