Atiku Urges National Assembly To Consider Six-Year Presidential Term

Atiku Abubakar, a former Vice President, has written to the National Assembly. He is advocating for a constitutional amendment to establish a six-year single-term limit for both the President and state governors.

In a memorandum addressed to the Senate Committee on Constitutional Review, Atiku suggested the implementation of a rotational presidency between the Northern and Southern regions

Atiku called on the National Assembly to revise Section 135(2) to state: “amend Section 135(2) to read: ‘Subject to the provisions of subsection (1), the President shall vacate his office at the expiration of a period of six years.”

Furthermore, he suggested replacing the term “substitution of an aspirant” in Section 285(14)(a) with “a voter.”

The former Vice President proposed that the minimum educational requirement for candidates seeking election should be the Ordinary National Diploma, rather than the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination. He suggested amending Section 65(2)(a) to state: “He has been educated up to at least Ordinary National Diploma in any recognised academic institution.”

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Additionally, he suggested adding a clause to Section 65(2)(a)(i) that would state: “Evidence of certificates of all educational qualifications of a candidate shall be submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission or an affidavit by the candidate in the event of loss of his/her educational certificates, qualifications obtained, and dates, stating the schools attended.”

Atiku emphasized the need for political parties to have greater authority in the selection of candidates. He suggested modifying Section 65(2)(b) to state: “He is a member of a political party whose name is in the register to be made available by his political party to the Independent National Electoral Commission 30 days before the conduct of the political party’s primary and he is sponsored by that party.”