To push elected leaders to focus on governance instead of politics, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele plans to sponsor a bill for a single six-year term for presidents and governors.
The senator announced on Tuesday while fielding questions from newsmen in his office that he will introduce the legislation during the inauguration of the next Senate, which will sit after the 2027 general elections.
Bamidele argued that the current two-term limits are counterproductive, as officeholders frequently spend a major part of their first term preoccupied with re-election strategies rather than serving the public.
“One of the first set of bills that I look forward to moving, by God’s grace, when we come back for the 11th Senate, God willing, is for a bill that will only make it possible for anyone who wants to be president of this country, or governor in any part of this country, to spend only one term of six years,” he said.
According to him, a single tenure would eliminate distractions associated with seeking a second term.
“So that you don’t even have to worry about wasting almost one and a half years of your first term thinking and struggling and looking forward to how you’ll be re-elected,” Bamidele said.
“If you know you are there for six years, only one tenure, you put in your best from day one. You know this is the only chance that you have.”
The Senate Leader acknowledged that the proposal may not enjoy universal support but maintained that lawmakers have a responsibility to initiate reforms they believe would strengthen governance.
“That’s my opinion. It doesn’t mean everybody will agree with me. But it also does not mean that I am prevented from doing that because that has not been the law.”
Bamidele stressed that laws are meant to evolve in response to changing realities and public needs.
“The essence of law, the essence of parliament, is that laws are like human beings; they grow,” he added.
Persecondnews reports that the bill if formally introduced and passed by the National Assembly, the proposal will require a constitutional amendment to take effect.