The House of Representatives on Tuesday rejected a bill seeking to provide for a single term of six years for the president, governors, members of the National Assembly and state houses of assembly.
The bill was sponsored by John Dyegh (APC-Benue) and presented for the Second Reading during plenary presided over by the Deputy Speaker of the house, Idris Wase.
The bill is entitled “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to Provide for a Single Term of Six Years for the President, Governors, Members of the National Assembly and States Houses of Assembly”.
Presenting the bill before the house, Dyegh said the bill did not seek to add to the tenure of the 9th Assembly but sought to provide “experience” for the legislative in the future.
“We are losing 200 members, over two-thirds of the members. For the executive and judiciary, it is not the same thing.
“A magistrate can rise through the ranks and make reference to 20 years of experience,” he said.
Most of the lawmakers debated against the bill, saying that there is nothing wrong with the system Nigeria currently operated.
Yusuf Gagdi (APC-Plateau) said there was nothing wrong with the current system of four-year tenure with a limit of two tenures for the Executive.
“In an ideal democracy, you cannot ask the president to perform a six-year tenure and expect a good performance.
“Our problem is our inability to respect our rules. What it needs it to maintain what is in place for the executive and National Assembly.”
