June 10, (THEWILL)- A group of 30 lawmakers in the House of Representatives have proposed a single term of six years for the office of the President and Governors and rotational presidency amongst the six geopolitical zones in the country.
The legislators under Reform Minded Lawmakers From Different Political Parties (G-30), are also advocating the conduct of Presidential, National Assembly, Governorship, State Houses of Assembly and Local Government as well as FCT Area Council elections in one day.
Addressing newsmen in Abuja on Monday, presenter of the Bills and member representing Ideato North/South Federal Constituency of Imo State, Ikenga Imo Ugochinere, said they were proposing alterations to the 1999 constitution (as amended), to provide for the rotation of executive powers among the six geopolitical zones of the country to ensure equal and reduce the desperation and tempo of agitation for the creation of New states.
He added that the Bills were seeking the amendment of the Constitution to create the office of two vice presidents from the southern and northern parts of Nigeria with the 1st vice being a succession Vice president, while the 2nd Vice president being a Minister in charge of the Economy and both being Ministers.
Ugochinyere emphasised that constitutional and electoral reform has been a significant issue in Nigeria since gaining independence from Britain in 1960. He pointed out that in the last 50 years, this matter has caused unrest and exacerbated religious and ethnic tensions in the country.
“We are a group of Reform minded lawmakers committed towards using the instrument of lawmaking to reform Nigeria and our political process.
“This is equally in line with our realisation that our current political arrangement has some identified distortions, defects and limitations that call for urgent, focused and realistic attention, hence this initiative on political and Electoral reform.
“Our history as a nation shows very clearly that we have been through difficult times. We missed great opportunities.
“Hence, as the first step in our commitment, we are presenting to the public Bills and proposals, which will are pushing on the floor of the 10th Assembly. These bills will touch on every aspect of development in all sectors of our economy and well-being as a nation.
These bills which are 50 in numbers have gone through first reading, but today we are starting with public unveiling of about 6 of them while the remaining will come in the weeks ahead.
“Constitutional Alteration to provide for the rotation of executive powers among the six geopolitical zones to ensure equal representation and reduce the desperation and tempo of agitation for the creation of states.
“Amendment of section 3 of the Constitution to provide for the recognition of the division of Nigeria into six geopolitical zones.Amendment of the Constitution to provide for a single tenure of six years for the President and Governors of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The reduction in government spending and waste, efficiency in governance and national stability by providing a single term of six years for the President and Governors.
“Amend the Constitution to create the office of two vice presidents from the southern and northern parts of Nigeria. The 1st vice shall be a succession Vice president, while the 2nd Vice president shall be a Minister in charge of the Economy and both shall be Ministers.
“Constitutional Amendment to provide that the President and the 1st Vice President shall come from the same part of the country (or south south) and the 1st Vice President shall become President whenever the President becomes incapacitated, I.He., V.P.(current), V.P.( Bankage Economy).
“The financial autonomy and accountability of Local Government Councils by prescribing an independent Consolidated Local Government Council Account solely superintended by Local Councils and prescribing long-term imprisonment for any misuse of Local Government funds.
“To amend section 162(5) of the 1999 Constitution to provide that where a State Government fails to remit to the Local Government Councils within its jurisdiction (or within the State), the amounts standing to the credit of that Local Government in the allocation from the Federation account, such State Government shall not be entitled to receive a future allocation from the Federal Government.
“Elections remain our only democratic means of bringing back sanity in our polity, so we must get our selection processes right now. We are proposing Bills to address capture and corruption in our electoral processes, including; Amending the relevant sections of the Electoral Act to ensure that all elections, broadcast governorship, National Assembly, state houses of Assembly and local governments) are held on the same day.
“Amending the relevant sections of the Electoral Act to provide that no declaration of a winner of an election shall be done by the relevant INEC Officials until such officer has compared the results with the list of accredited voters and ensured that the results to be declared are in tandem with the list of accredited voters and the B-VAS machine or any other electronic device.
“Amend the Electoral Act to provide that any INEC Officer who declares a false result will be liable for civil and criminal action personally brought against him by parties in the elections.An Amendment to the Electoral Act to provide that all election-related litigations must be resolved and determined by the Elections Petitions Tribunal, Appeal Courts, etc., before the winners are sworn into the respective elective offices.
“An Amendment of the Electoral Act to make provision for the conduct and conclusion of all elections and election-related litigation within a period of six months before the swearing into office of the validly elected person for the office contested. An Amendment of the Electoral Act to provide that all election-related documents and materials must be made available to those who participated in elections and who have reasons to question Valentine’s elections at the Elections Tribunal”, he said.
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