- It should not be approached hastily -Okupe
A former Chairman, National Economic Summit Group, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, says the proposed power rotation among the six-geopolitical zones will promote equity and justice.
Ohuabunwa said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN)on Saturday on Lagos .
According to him, if the proposal eventually gains constitutional backing,it will deepen the country’s democracy and address claims of political marginalisation.
NAN recalls that a bill seeking a rotation of the president and state governors was brought up on June 11 by 35 members of the House of Representatives.
The 35 legislators, under the auspices of Reformed-Minded Legislators, said the proposition would lead to reduction in the cost of governance.
Speaking , Ohuabunwa said the antagonists of power rotation wanted Nigerians to forget the “Federal Character Principle” in the constitution, which requires fair and equitable representation of different ethnic and regional groups in government.
“For whatever it is worth, and for the sake of inclusiveness and sense of belonging, each of the six zones should have the experience of presidential power.
“The rotation of power, is more or less a gentleman agreement, which is already more or less in practice since democracy was returned into the country in 1999..
“The South-West had it through Olusegun Obasanjo, the South-South had it through Goodluck Jonathan., the North-West had it through Muhammadu Buhari.
“The last time(2023) the South-East thought it would be their turn ,but it was denied as power went back to the South-West.
“It is a painful reality that the agreement changed and that political leaders did not keep to it
“It is in South-West now and it is believed that it will probably go back to the north in 2027, if the rotational presidency is not included in the constitution,” he said.
Ohuabunwa, a former chairman of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria(MAN), urged that rotational presidency be included in the Constitution before 2027 to address unrest and agitations for power in some parts of the country.
Speaking on money politics, Ohuabunwa said it was unfortunate that Nigerians put money above competence and integrity when choosing leaders .
He said money politics was destroying the country’s democracy by throwing up bad leaders.
Meanwhile, a former Director-General of the Labour Party (LP) Presidential Campaign Council, Dr. Doyin Okupe, says the proposed single-tenure rotational presidency is a great idea for a developing country like Nigeria.
Okupe, a former presidential spokesman who made the remark in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Lagos, however, said it should not be approached hastily.
NAN reports that a bill seeking a single term of six years for the President and state governors was brought up recently by 35 members of the House of Representatives.
The bill also canvasses the rotation of the presidency among the six geo-political zones of the country.
Mexico is one of the few countries in the world operating six-year single tenure presidency .
Reacting, Okupe,a former National Publicity Secretary of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC) said that so many things were wrong with the 1999 Constitution despite the amendments it had undergone.
“I don’t think we should do this kind of reform(constitutional amendment) in a haphazard manner . There is so much that is wrong with the constitution we are operating.
“There is so much confusion and contradiction in the 1999 Constitution as prescribed and handed over to us by the military.
“I would rather have us to have a holistic approach to this reform or amendment.
“The six year single tenure for the President and governors is okay in a developing nation like this and I have no objection to it.
“Yes, it is good we can have six years single tenure rotational presidency. However,the rotational part should be clearly stated in the constitution among the six zones,” Okupe said.
He said that the National Assembly should not just review the tenure alone, but must go ahead and do so many other reforms, especially in the electoral system.
According to him , there is also confusion about whether Nigeria is running a federal system or unitary system which any reform must address.
He added that if the nation must have the reform, the presidential system of government must be jettisoned for parliamentary system “where we have a Prime Minister that would be elected by his colleagues from the parliament.”
“The Prime Minister will run the country under the supervision of the elected president .The role of the president will be limited and be very clear.
“And if the people are not satisfied with the prime minister, they can go to the parliament to remove him and put some else.
“This is a country of over 200million, a lot of destinies are involved, there is no need for us to patching and patching it. If the constitution is not okay let us attend to it properly.”
On the 2014 National Conference, Okupe said that the recommendations of the confab,organised by former President Goodluck Jonathan,would have delivered an acceptable constitution,if implemented.
“Everybody agreed and everybody consented. Why don’t we bring that up to have something that is reasonable.
“We just add other issues like this single term rotational presidency.
“And if we are going to do it, the time for it is now. We need to get things corrected once and for all.
“We are where we are because new are just satisfied managing the same constitution that has not helped us,” Okupe said. (NAN)
Adekunle Williams
