The spokesperson for the Labour Party’s presidential campaign council, Yunusa Tanko, has emphasized the need to reform Nigeria’s electoral process, citing it as a more pressing issue than the proposed single-tenure rotational presidency.
While acknowledging the importance of rotational presidency, Tanko believes that electoral reform should take precedence, ensuring the emergence of credible leaders and deepening democracy.
Tanko’s remarks come in response to a proposal by 35 House of Representatives members, who suggested a six-year single term for presidents and governors, with rotation among geopolitical zones, according to TheCable.
The legislators aim to reduce the cost of governance and agitation for state creation. Tanko, however, stressed that electoral reform is a more critical issue, requiring attention before pursuing rotational presidency.
“These (single tenure of six years and rotational presidency) are things that will be decided by the Nigerian people when the time comes,” Tanko said.
“They are not things that should be at the front burner of discussions at the moment now.
“This is because what we need actually at the moment is for us to have an electoral reform that would dovetail into credible elections.
“Once we have that, we shall be talking about tenure of office.
“Let us reform the electoral system to make it clean and clear so that we can have credible elections.”
