The House of Representatives on Thursday, November 21, rejected a proposed constitution amendment aimed at instituting a single six-year term for the president, governors, and local government chairmen across the federation.
The bill, sponsored by Ikenga Ugochinyere (PDP, Imo) and 33 co-sponsors, also sought to divide the country into six geopolitical zones and establish a rotational system for the presidency and governorship within these zones.
Additionally, it proposed that all elections be conducted on a single day.
Lawmakers declined to allow the bill’s sponsor to lead the debate, which sought to amend key sections of the 1999 Constitution, including Sections 76, 116, 132, and 136.
It sought to amend the provision of section 132 of the Constitution t by inserting a new subsection (2) deleting the extant subsection (4) and renumbering the entire section accordingly to provide that an election to the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be rotated between the North and the South regions of the country every six years. It also sought to amend Section 180 of the Principal Act by substituting “four years with “six years”.
In addition, it sought to alter Section 76 by inserting a new subsection (3) as follows; (3) For the Purpose of Section (1) of this section, all elections into the offices of President, Governors, National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly shall hold simultaneously on the same date to be determined by the Independent National Electoral Commission in consultation with the National Assembly and in accordance with the Electoral Act.
