On Wednesday, the House of Representatives conducted the first reading of a bill proposing an amendment to the 1999 Constitution to implement a single six-year term for the President, State Governors, and Local Government Chairmen.
This change is aimed at reducing the costs associated with the current four-year election cycle.
The bill, introduced by Ikenga Ugochinyere, the representative for Ideato North/Ideato South Federal Constituency in Imo State, along with 50 co-sponsors, is a private member initiative.
The proposed amendment seeks to revise Sections 7, 135, 137, 180, and 182 (1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
Clause 2 proposes an addition to Section 7 of the Constitution by introducing a new subsection (5), which will read: “(5) A holder of the office of a Local Government Chairman shall vacate his office at the expiration of a period of six years commencing from the date such holder was elected into office.”
Clause 3 aims to amend Section 135 by replacing references to “four” years with “six” years in subsections (2), (2A), and (3), with the following changes:
“(2) Subject to subsection (1) of this section, the President shall vacate his office at the end of a six (6) year single tenure, beginning from the date when – (a) in the case of a person first elected as President under this Constitution, he took the Oath of Allegiance and the oath of office; and (b) in other cases, when the person last elected to the office under this Constitution took the Oath of Allegiance and the oath of office, or would have done so if not for their death.
“(2A) If a re-run election has occurred and the incumbent is re-elected, the time served before the previous election was annulled shall be included in the six-year term.
“(3) In the event of a war involving Nigeria, if the President deems it impractical to hold elections, the National Assembly may extend the six-year term by resolution, but no such extension shall exceed six months at a time.”
Clause 4 seeks to amend Section 137 by removing paragraph (b) and renumbering the remaining sections accordingly.
Clause 5 proposes changes to Section 180, by removing the current subsections 2 and 3 and replacing them with new subsections 2 and 3, which will state:
“(2) Subject to subsection (1) of this section, the Governor shall vacate his office at the end of a six (6) year single tenure, starting from the date when – (a) in the case of a person first elected as Governor under this Constitution, he took the Oath of Allegiance and the oath of office; and (b) in any other case, the person last elected to that office took the Oath of Allegiance and the oath of office, or would have done so but for their death.
“(3) If the Federation is at war and the territory of Nigeria is involved, and if the President considers it impractical to hold elections, the National Assembly may extend the six-year term by resolution, but no such extension shall exceed six months at a time.”
Clause 6 (numbering corrected) seeks to amend Section 182 (1) by deleting paragraph (b) and renumbering the section as needed.
The bill is formally titled the “Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (As Amended) (Alteration) Bill 2024.”
