Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo, has proposed a constitutional amendment to change the tenure of elected political office holders in Nigeria from two terms of four years each to a single term of six years.
He noted that a single term of five or six years was enough for any government to focus and serve the people, and deliver on its mandate.
Makinde made this call during a visit on him by Muslim faithful, including clerics, traditional rulers, and political office holders, to his Ikolaba residence in Ibadan after the Eid-el-Kabir prayers.
According to Makinde, a single term of five or six years would allow governments to focus on serving the people and delivering on their mandate without distractions.
He cited his own experience, noting that his administration lost almost a year due to campaigning for a second term and facing distractions that hindered their ability to focus on governance.
“I was just looking at the trajectory for me in government. I have spent six years already, and due to no fault of anybody, we lost the year 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We lost almost one year, campaigning all over the place for the second tenure.
”Now, people have started distracting us from what we want to do next and all of that. So, I feel that, effectively, the time we can say we are very serious with governance is just about five out of the eight years.
“That is why I feel that if you remove all these distractions, a single tenure of five or six years is actually enough to focus and do the work that we are trying to do in eight years. ”
Makinde acknowledged that his proposal required a constitutional amendment, but he believed it’s a model that could work for Nigeria.
He urged the public to consider the benefits of a single term, which would enable governments to prioritise governance over political considerations.
The proposal for a single term of six years has received support from some quarters.
For instance, Anambra State Governor Professor Chukwuma Soludo had also backed the idea, arguing that it would allow governments to focus on projects without worrying about the next election.
However, not everyone agrees with this proposal. In November 2024, the House of Representatives rejected a bill seeking to amend the constitution to provide for a single term of six years for the President and state governors.
The debate around the tenure of elected office holders in Nigeria continues, with proponents arguing that a single term would promote good governance and opponents expressing concerns about the potential implications.
As the conversation evolves, it’s essential to consider the potential benefits and drawbacks of such a significant change to the country’s governance structure.
