6-yr single term: Parties demand undertaking for Jonathan

Posted by admin Headlines Saturday, August 6th, 2011

The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) is seeking an undertaking from President Goodluck Jonathan to Nigerians afresh, that neither him nor any of his associates will be a first line beneficiary of any amendment to the constitution that will create a single term of six years for the president and state governors.

In a statement by the CNPP General Secretary, Willy Ezugwu, the body said “Nigerians will prefer it even more, if government at this stage focuses on dealing with the myriad of issues that have turned the country into a living hell for citizens instead of this latest round of distractions that might only further complicate the present fragile state of the nation.”

The statement explained that the demand for fresh assurances from Mr. President is the direct result of recent revelations that seem to indicate that the president told Nigerians less than he knew about his plan to change the tenure of the executive arm.

“First is the unsettling media report that President Jonathan is intensely lobbying members of the National Assembly for the proposed amendment to sail through. If the president genuinely has no pecuniary interest in the planned changes, he would have simply left the bill with the lawmakers and allow the will of Nigerians to prevail in the matter. How else can he explain the lobbying and the pressure he is piling on lawmakers to effect the change?”

“We are also worried that some of those who actively took part in the committee credited with the proposal under late President Yar’Adua have come into the open with a different account of what they actually recommended. Even… former military president, Ibrahim Babangida has advised President Jonathan through his spokesman to discard the idea,” Ezugwu said.

He added, “The time and resources that will go into this proposed change can be better applied to improve the economy and create employment for instance. That is why it is a disappointment that tenure elongation is the only bill Mr. President is thinking about in his first three months in office while infrastructure continue to decay, security degenerates with Boko Haram on the loose, corruption is growing daily and some Nigerians are barely unable to feed anymore.

“If President Jonathan sincerely has Nigeria’s interest in proposing this law then he should wait until one year to the end of his tenure to propose this change. This way activists can use the necessary instruments of ECOWAS and AU in dissuading him from being a beneficiary at that stage”.

-Vanguardwp_posts