The Bill seeking the amendment of the Nigerian constitution to accommodate a 6-years single term of office of the President, Governors, and members of both state and National Assembly has suffered a setback at the green chamber of the National Assembly today.
The bill titled “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 and state House of Assembly and For Related Matters” was first introduced by John Dyegh (APC Benue) and seconded by Olajide Abdulraheem.
The bill was brought up for a second reading today when it was overwhelmingly rejected by members of the House of Reps after a heated debate for and against it.
During the presentation of the Bill, Dyegh opined that the need for the Act was necessitated on the fact that a single term stretch for six years will allow both state and national Assembly to have more experience instead of being elected or rejected every four years.
According to him, since the year 1999, the percentage of new lawmakers who lack institutional experience in lawmaking has always been high for the fact that most lawmakers are rejected after their first term and this has been negatively affecting the legislative process.
He added, since lawmakers are being rejected in their constituencies after their first term, there is a need for them to stay longer in the National Assembly to garner more experience.
More so, the monies spent by the Governors and the President during the election are draining the country's resources which need to be curtailed.
In the end, after debating on the matter, majority of the members rejected the bill as they opined is anti-people.
