Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has proposed a constitutional amendment for a single term of five or six years for elected officials at all levels of government in Nigeria. He recently suggested a move away from the current system of two four-year terms.
Speaking during a visit from a delegation of Muslim faithful, including clerics, traditional rulers, and political leaders, at his residence in Ikolaba, Ibadan, following the Eid-el-Kabir prayers at Agodi Eid Ground.
According to him, he can only congratulate the Muslim community on the 2025 Eid-el-Kabir and appreciate them for their prayers and continued support over the past six years.
Emphasising the need for a better governance period, Makinde suggested that a single six-year term would allow leaders to focus on their mandates without the distractions of re-election campaigns.
According to him, he was not particularly pleased with how his administration lost almost one year because they had to campaign all over the place to secure a second tenure.
Seyi believes the distraction can be removed if elected Nigerian politicians are allowed to concentrate on doing their job.
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“I was just looking at the trajectory for me in government. I have spent six years already and due to no fault of anybody, we lost the year 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
We lost almost one year, campaigning all over the place for the second tenure. Now, people have started distracting us on what I want to do next and all of that. So, I feel that, effectively, the time we can say we are very serious with governance is just about five out of the eight years.
That is why I feel if you remove all these distractions, a single tenure of five or six years is actually enough to focus and do the work that we are trying to do in eight years.
Well, we shouldn’t be afraid to say the fact based on data that is available to us. It has nothing to do with me. If they say I should end it, so be it,” he said.
The Governor acknowledged the ongoing discussions around his suggestion in the National Assembly, advocating for broader consideration of the proposal among the populace.
“So, I am just calling the attention of our people to this because it is a constitutional issue. We should start looking at it. I know that it has been brought to the attention of the National Assembly but, quite frankly, it is a model that should work for this country,” he added.
