The Senate’s Constitution Review Committee on Tuesday said President Goodluck Jonathan and the incumbent governors would not benefit from the five-year single tenure proposed at its retreat in Asaba, Delta State on Saturday.

The Deputy Senate President and Chairman of the committee, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, stated this in an African Independent Television programme, Focus Africa.

He said all issues raised at the retreat would be subjected to national debates.

Ekweremadu stated that the single five-year tenure for the President and governors was not the idea of the committee.

According to him, it is among the proposals by a consultant to the committee and memoranda for constitution amendment that have been submitted by various groups.

The memoranda, he said, pointed to the fact that Nigerians would be more comfortable with single tenure.

He stated, “Now that it has come up, we are prepared to continue the national dialogue in that respect and see what Nigerians will think about it.

“If it is preponderance of opinion that we should go for single tenure, the question will be ‘how many years?’ Five years is just a suggestion.”

Ekweremadu said the committee would not limit itself to the suggestion on the five-year single tenure.

“For now, we are throwing it back to the public to decide whether they want single term or two tenures. If they want single tenure, how many years?” he added.

The deputy Senate president explained that the current President and governors would not benefit from the single term.

He said, “It is the opinion of our consultants that single term will not be available to those who are in office presently. If you are in office as President or governor, either on first and second term, you will not benefit from it.

“If you are on first term as a governor or President, you will have to make the sacrifice of surrendering your rights for second term. If the proposal succeeds, only those who are not in office as governor or President can vie for election for a single term.”

Defending the single tenure proposal, he said its proponents believed that once politicians got elected, they would start preparing for the second term, thus relegating to the background, issues they were elected for.

He stated that those proposing single tenure were of the view that two-term tenure was distracting to the President and governors.

“As a President or a governor, there are certain things you want to do, but you won’t do because you don’t want to hurt anybody because you want to come back. Those things you want to do may be in the best interest of the country.”

Also during the television programme, the Senate Majority Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, said the single tenure would enable elected officers to concentrate on governance.

The Senate majority leader suggested that the single term could be experimented for 20 or 30 years.

Explaining the purpose of the Asaba retreat, he said, “We did not present any communiqué. There were no resolutions on any issue.

“We are in Asaba to merely distill various issues that arose from various memoranda we have received and to identify possible issues. Many more issues will come from public hearings.”

Meanwhile, Senate President, David Mark, has said the constitutional amendment embarked upon by the National Assembly will address all the problems confronting the nation

Mark, who spoke at a church service for the late Senator Gyang Dantong, said the National Assembly, the governors and all stakeholders in the amendment process were on the same page on the areas that required amendment.

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“For now, we are throwing it back to the public to decide whether they want single term or two tenures".-Ekweremadu. What Say You?

Even the four years per term should be reduced to three, since the office is now national cake...