Bill proposing Six-year single-term for President, Governors rejected by Reps

A bill seeking to reduce the tenure of the president and governors to a single tenure of 6 years has been rejected in the House of Representatives.

The bill, sponsored by Ikenga Ugochinyere and 33 others was debated on Thursday before lawmakers rejected it.

The now rejected bill sought to amend 1999 to reduce the tenure of the lawmakers and also seeks the zonal rotation of presidential and governorship seats, as well as holding of the elections in one day.

The amendments the Bill is proposing seek to ensure inclusive governance and to curb wastages caused by four-year periodic elections.

The Bill also seeks to amend Section 76 of the Principal Act by inserting a new Sub-section (3) as follows;
“(3) For the Purposes 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.”

The Bill was put to a voice vote by the Speaker who presided over the plenary session and those against it had more vocal votes .