The National Association of Nigerian Students opposed the measure on Thursday, calling it “anti-democracy and an attempt to stifle people’s choice” and calling for a single six-year term for the president and state governors.
Recall that last week, 35 House of Representatives members, together with the group Reformed-minded Legislators, introduced a bill that would have limited presidential and state governor terms to six years each.
In addition, the parliamentarians want to rotate the presidency among the nation’s six geopolitical zones. They claim that if this idea is put into action, the expense of government will go down.
But in response to the law, NANS urged Nigerians, organizations that support democracy, organized labor, and trade unions to mobilize against it.
Yekini Adewale, the National Clerk of the Senate of NANS, referred to the bill as “a smokescreen” intended to deflect attention away from the current economic hardships that Nigerians are going through during a press conference on Thursday in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
The nation’s top student body issued a threat to organize a nationwide student walkout against the proposed legislation. Adewale stated that the bill would weaken political leaders’ integrity, responsibility, accountability, and openness if it became law.
“Yes, democracy depends on the three arms of government working together harmoniously, but it is depressing and should never be tolerated when a crucial arm, like the legislature, introduces legislation or, worse, passes laws that restrict people’s freedom of choice or undermine democratic principles.
In addition to denouncing the proposed bills, NANS, a non-governmental organization and the only pressure group fighting to prevent the truncation of our hard-won democracy, calls on Nigerians to oppose actions taken by some dishonest politicians that are intended to further their own self-interest.
In the event that the proposed bills become law, our democracy will be seriously threatened.
“A president or governor who understands that he is not eligible to run for reelection may choose to occupy himself with pinning on his own tail rather than providing the electorate with effective leadership.”
“Removing the second term from our constitution is the same as taking away the electorate’s exclusive ability to remove any governor or president who is not performing to their standards.
As the nation’s student body, we will mobilize a sizable number of members to oppose these bills in an effort to remove responsibility, accountability, probity, and transparency from the elected officials and legislators.
“A day will be set aside for Nigerian students to embark on a mass march against the National Assembly, further demonstrating our rejection of these anti-democratic, anti-people, and anti-progress bills,” Adewale stated.
