By Mercy Aikoye
A group of thirty five reformed-minded lawmakers in the House of Representatives are seeking to ammend the 1999 Constitution to pave the way for the rotation of the Presidency and governorship position among the six geo-political zones of the country and also calling for “A single tenure of six years for the President and Governors of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Speaking on behalf of the group today in Abuja, during a press conference at the National Assembly, Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere, (representing Ideato South/Ideato North Federal Constituency, Imo State) said, it has become imperative in cutting cost of running the government which has led to wastage over the years.
Hon. Ikenga further notes that among the bills which seek to ammend the electoral act will bring about national stability by ensuring that pre-election matters are concluded before election begins as this will address the constant appearance of candidates in court even after elections have been concluded.
According to the group, the bills numbering fifty which further aims to amend the relevant sections of the Electoral Act to ensure that all elections (presidential, governorship, National Assembly, state houses of Assembly, and local governments) are held on the same day will further address violence, and corruption in our electoral processes amongst other areas.
Other lawmakers who lend their voices during the press conference to include Hon. Awaji-Inombek Abiante (Rivers State), Hon. Sunday Nnamchi, (Enugu State) Hon. Usman Balami (Borno State) collectively commended the speaker of the house of representatives Hon. Tajudeen Abbas and called for his support including other members of the National Assembly and other stakeholders who will be instrumental towards ensuring these bills are passed and assented to.
Stating that elections remain the only democratic means of bringing back sanity in Nigeria’s polity, the group also noted that another bill on their electoral reforms objectives proposed a mandatory electronic transmission of results and accreditation of voters, outlawing the use of manual means completely.
