Six-year term okay, says Ekweremadu

Ekweremadu

Deputy Senate Presiddent Ike Ekweremadu, yesterday renewed his call for a single six-year term for President and governors.

For him, “This will substantially reduce the political tensions and executive excesses that come with self-succession.”

In a facebook post, Ekweremdu added that the option is the only way to stop desperation in the political system.

He said: “As is always the case, Nigeria’s political atmosphere is getting toxic ahead of the 2019 general election and governance is taking a backseat.

“Unfortunately, this atmosphere, with the accompanying brazen political excesses, are unlikely to abate until well after the 2019 general elections.

”The feverish political climate in the country today, once again, justifies the call by some of us for a single term of five or six years for the president and governors.

“Although a renewable four-year term is popular, societies are dynamic and it is up to us to make necessary constitutional adjustments to safeguard our democracy and make periods leading up to our elections less toxic.

”We proposed a single term for the President and Governors with several transitional options during the constitution amendment exercise in the 7th National Assembly.

“Unfortunately, it was misunderstood by various political and sectional interests for various reasons and the proposal did not succeed.”