A retired Permanent Secretary, Chief Robert Audu has called for the adoption of a 6-yr single tenure, starting with President Muhammadu Buhari.
Chief Audu, who had served in several ministries, including Perm-Sec (Political) The Presidency, was also a member of the 2005 and 2014 political conferences.
“My reason is that we waste a lot of money on elections every four years. The expenditure on election is too much. For instance, we hear the president is asking for about N400 billion to conduct the 2019 elections. This is apart from all the support INEC receives from international organisations. This is a waste of resources. If we have six years of single term, in eight years, we would have saved the cost of conducting one election. The balance will be used for developmental projects,” he said.
Asked if he felt Nigerians could accept his proposal, he said, “I’m even advocating that the 6-year single term should start with Buhari. He should be given a two-year extension, and subsequently we go for 6-year single term.”
And on who he felt could be the greatest beneficiary, he said, “Buhari may be the first to benefit from it, but it is not meant for him. We had proposed this even in the 2005 conference, in which Obasanjo would have benefitted, but it failed because Obasanjo would have had an additional two years over the eight years of two four-year terms recognised by the constitution.
“But if this is accepted, Buhari is actually losing two years, not gaining two years because he expects to win the 2019 election that will give him another 4-year mandate. Therefore, if we have 6-year single term, he would actually lose two years.”
