CONSTITUTION AMENDMENT REPORT: SENATE RECOMMENDS 6-YEAR SINGLE TERM FOR PRESIDENT, GOVS •BARS JONATHAN, SERVING GOVS

THE Senate Committee on Constitution Amendment, headed by Senator Ike Ekweremadu, on Tuesday, laid the report of the public hearings it conducted before the Senate, with a recommendation of six-year single tenure for president and governors.

The report, however, indicated that the serving president and governors will not benefit from the new proposal.

Sources close to the committee told the Nigerian Tribune that the committee had recommended six-year single tenure after series of deliberations.

Insights into the report also confirmed that the committee had agreed that serving political office holders, including the president and governors elected in 2011, would not benefit from the new proposal.

A source privy to the report also said the Senate committee had met on two occasions to finalise deliberations on the single tenure issue, adding that it was concluded that six-year single tenure should take off from 2015, while serving political office holders should not benefit.

“The report is conclusive on the issue of tenure and we agreed that six-year single tenure should be enough to solve all problems associated with re-election, the brickbrats and all that tension,” the source said.

It was gathered that with the recommendation, the current serving president and governors would only serve another four years if re-elected.

“The Senate is concerned that the nation has to fashion ways of strenghtening democracy and this is a recommendation in that regard,” a source said.

Source: Tribune