NIGERIA: House Of Reps Trash Six-Year Tenure, Rotational Presidency Proposal

By Onoja Baba, Nigeria

The House of Representatives on Thursday shut down a proposed amendment to the 1999 Constitution seeking to introduce a six-year single tenure for the President, state governors, and area council chairmen, as well as mandate rotational presidency between the North and South.

The bill, sponsored by Ikenga Ugochinyere, who represents the Ideato North/Ideato South Federal Constituency of Imo State, and co-sponsored by 33 other lawmakers, aimed to foster inclusive governance and curb the financial burden of frequent elections.

It proposed altering key sections of the constitution to institutionalise a single-term presidency, rotate leadership across Nigeria’s geopolitical divides, and synchronise elections across all levels of government.

A particularly contentious provision in the bill was the clause mandating that if an elected President dies or becomes unable to take the oath of office, the Vice President-elect would automatically assume the presidency and appoint a new Vice President with legislative approval.

When the bill was put to a voice vote by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas during plenary, it failed to gain traction as lawmakers across party lines overwhelmingly rejected it.

Proponents of the bill argued that it would address the country’s enduring governance challenges and reduce the disruption of recurring electoral cycles.

Opponents, however, dismissed it as unrealistic and potentially divisive, questioning the practicality of implementing such sweeping changes in a politically fragmented nation.