The House of Representatives has rejected a bill seeking a single term of six years for the president and state governors.
Sponsored by Hon. John Dyegh, the bill which was listed on Tuesday’s Order Paper of the House for second reading was rejected through voice votes by members.
In addition, the bill which was seeking amendment to certain provisions of the 1999 constitution, amendment also proposed unlimited tenure of six years for members of the National Assembly as well as state houses of assembly.
Debating on the general principles of the bill, majority of members opposed it, arguing that there was nothing wrong with the system in operation in the country today, with a few others expressing support.
According to Henry Archibong, the focus should be on improving Nigeria’s electoral process and not on the length of time an elected officer stays in office.
“How can we make electoral processes and elections credible and less expensive? This is the issue we ought to address and not the number of terms”, he said.
Several other members, including Yusuf Gadgi, Haruna Bello and Sergius Oguns spoke on the bill before question for voice votes was put by Deputy Speaker Idris Wase, and the bill to scale second reading
