Single Term Proposal – Governors Not In Support

There are speculations that the single tenure bid may not be favored by Governors especially those of the opposition parties. Despite President Goodluck Jonathan’s insistence that he will not benefit of the increase in the duration of a tenure as stipulated by the new bill, opposition parties and many other Nigerians have received news of the bill askance and seem unconvinced by the President’s statement on

The governors were said to be agrieved that the President did not consult them on the single tenure bill before arriving at a decision. In line with statements by such parties as ACN and LP that they will not support the bill, Governors who emerged from the opposition parties have rejected the bill. It is also being gathered that Governors from the Northern parts of Nigeria view the bill with suspicion because they believe it is going to shortchange them.

It was gathered that a governor from one of the Northern states said “We feel that the bill will short-change the North even if Jonathan does not contest. “By 2015, the South will have been in power for a total of 13 years, out of 16 years of civil rule since 1999. Obasanjo spent eight years in office, Jonathan will have spent five years in 2015.

“Why is it that Jonathan is thinking of a single tenure, when it is the turn of the North? We are suspecting that there is a hidden agenda.”

It should be noted that in all, the opposition parties control about 11 states out of 36. The bill is likely to face very difficult resistance if the opposition parties and those elected under them remain obdurate with regards to their position on the bill since such an amendment to the constitution must be supported by the votes of not less than two-thirds majority of all the members of that House and approved by resolution of the Houses of Assembly of not less than two-thirds of all the states before it can be passed

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