Fresh Air 2011!

Odechukwu was surprised at the amount of people he had to buy off to get the Presidency. Instead of using the Presidency to fight the corrupt elements, he decides to entrench them with 7 years reward having decided that it is too expensive to bribe the whole nation to win elections every 4 years.

The slowpoke forgot the stench and fart he endorsed and enthroned as Governors (the likes of T.A Orji, Timi Sylva, Uduaghan etc) just so they could deliver delegate votes, and forgot that they will be serving 7 years with him  - with immunity clause intact.


The fool called Odechukwu had long signalled his intention to make a mockery of the anti-corruption fight with his light-handed approach to the likes of his SW campaign chief OGD, Ohakim and the selective prosecution of Bank-ole so he can gloss-up on his ephemeral visit to America. Now that his visit to America is done, Bank-ole is no longer front page news and has been quietly relegated till the story dies a natural death.

Odechukwu is slow in speech, slow in manner, and dishonest in intentions. The bungling fool is a shame to the voting electorate.

dayokanu:

Where are the GEJ proponent

Beaf, Papabrownie, Wesley80, JohnPaul2k8, agaba, Odunnu etc

Every single person here with the exception of Odunnu is an ethnic jingoist. Dont forget Na-so.

The tenure elongatio bill is ill conceived. Mr (not Dr) Babatunde Raji Fashola(SAN) spent only 4yrs and proved beyond reasonable doubts to all doubting Thomases that the time is enough to make a positive and lasting impact on people's life. Let GEJ and those politician that belief in this elongation of tenure come and enrol in the transformational school of EKO ONI BAJE O to learn how to fix things in 4yrs. No more no less!!   

GEJ is a useless being
Seun n Beaf where are you? I need your comments,

The president has a point, but you people are not looking at the issue rationally. Most of de govs spend half of term on election and 1st year learning. This will let them have focus on work and time to do it.

it shd b left for Nigerians to decided who dey wish to re-elect for a 2nd term, it shows how competence that person was in office the first term but wit this single term ish, arrgh i weep

"The Making of a Dictator", Our President despite the high rate of religious conflict and insecurity in general are working toward clinching power six more years after this fours years tenure, the ACN have just describe the proposed constitution amendment to elongate the president and Governors tenure as a big scam by clueless Jonathan, any-well that's what happen when you have supposed fisherman as president or what do you expect ?.

Johndoe100:

The president has a point, but you people are not looking at the issue rationally. Most of de govs spend half of term on election and 1st year learning. This will let them have focus on work and time to do it.

You don't have a point. Before you become a leader you should already have plans for what you intend to achieve. Your point is only applicable for those that stumbled into leadership positions.

Toks2008:

I wonder how Nigerians can allow sentiments and bias overcloud their sense of judgement.

As for me, nothing can be better than this bill if passed into law and i don't have the time to elucidiate on various reasons but i strongly believe it is a right step in the right direction.

One more bill they need to pass is removal of immunity for serving Presidents, Governors,

Dont you think it would have been wiser if the bolded was done first before anything at all?

Johndoe100:

The president has a point, but you people are not looking at the issue rationally. Most of de govs spend half of term on election and 1st year learning. This will let them have focus on work and time to do it.

You are just as disonest as GEJ. Something he never mentioned at all before the elections , amongst the myriad of promises, is now his number 1 priority? GEJ is dishonest and you are too with your shameless sycophancy. We all remember him being embarrassingly silent before the election when the PAC (Presidential advice committee) stated that he must reduce the size of the government . While some like you and your shameless co-travellers made excuses for him I predicted that Jonathan was quiet on the issue because he has no intention of doing what is right for Nigeria as , first and foremost, he must accomodate alll the AGIPs even if Nigeria is bankrupted in the process . Who turned out correct considering that after winning the election GEJ's first action was to vindictively disband the PAC and state boldy that "leaner Government not possible" . Posterity will judge GEJ and his dishonest followers like yourself, Beaf et al.

it's just really annoying sometimes when i see people rush on facebook or nairaland to condemn politicians in power without really giving any constructive criticism, as if it's a competition to see which poster can give the "wittiest abuse" or "yab" , If you're not in support of a one tenure system, then simply say why and give your reasons. When u start getting personal, its as if you don't have anything else to say,

Personally, I think the one tenure approach has some positives:

1) It'll give politicians in power more of an incentive to leave a legacy, in that they know when they're done, they're done
2)Frequent elections have a higher social cost on society, activities come to a standstill, etc.
3)Inumbents tend to focus more on canvassing for support for the next four years rather than fosusing on serving

The downside is that politicians know they have lesser time to loot our treasury so they will want to act (steal) quickly, (the upside to this is that because they have lesser time, no time to really plan the looting strategy,

On balance I think the positives outweigh the negatives, if you disagree please say why and lets have a decent debate about it

The president has a point, but you people are not looking at the issue rationally. Most of de govs spend half of term on election and 1st year learning. This will let them have focus on work and time to do it.

@johndoe100,
may God kill u, ur point alonside ur rationale. look at my id very well and read through all nairaland, i have said it from the day one, jonathan is just a toy in the hands of the most wanted criminals of this useless jungle called nigeria. in this useless country, u build ur own house, buy ur own transformer, buy cable, buy poles only to step down unfuntional electricity before buying generators, fuel and oil with plugs. then u have to get a bore hole if u want water. employ security man and then arrange access road yet u listen to somebody that is not comfortable with 4 yrs.how many ppl are in nigeria? can't we all have 2 months as president since we are all nigerians.
what is the difference between what ur jonathan is ranationally saying and what obasanjo rationally said in 2007? are u not aware that this bill will waste billions of naire in the name of bribe like obasanjo did during his fight for 3rd term?
in ur half baked brains, u think it will take six yrs for a govt to pay just N18,000 minimum wage.
what has jonathan done to please nigerians before seeking tenure elongation?

that is the reason why some patriotic Nigerians like myself are asking for an ammendment to the bill.
No need for elections in future.Neither primaries,secondary and all what not.present occupants should stay there for life and in the event oftheir death,they must have it written in their will who inherits their post and it must not be subject to any court of law.Infact we can ask Odili to help us obtain an indefinite injunction against the chosen beneficiary of the inherited position.
This will save us all this billions that Inec and jega would need for future elections and would ensure that GEJ is able to spread permanent fresh air to every corner of this great nation.
4 years is not enough,neither is 6 years enough. A lifetime is barely appropriate.
continuity is essential.
GEJ for life!!!

reini:

it's just really annoying sometimes when i see people rush on facebook or nairaland to condemn politicians in power without really giving any constructive criticism, as if it's a competition to see which poster can give the "wittiest abuse" or "yab" , If you're not in support of a one tenure system, then simply say why and give your reasons. When u start getting personal, its as if you don't have anything else to say,

Personally, I think the one tenure approach has some positives:

1) It'll give politicians in power more of an incentive to leave a legacy, in that they know when they're done, they're done
2)Frequent elections have a higher social cost on society, activities come to a standstill, etc.
3)Inumbents tend to focus more on canvassing for support for the next four years rather than fosusing on serving

The downside is that politicians know they have lesser time to loot our treasury so they will want to act (steal) quickly, (the upside to this is that because they have lesser time, no time to really plan the looting strategy,

On balance I think the positives outweigh the negatives, if you disagree please say why and lets have a decent debate about it

honestly u are just spilling dust. this thread is now on its 6th page i guess. so you are telling me that you haven't seen any reasonable thing peeps have written on why this bill should be killed on arrival. Most GEJ apologists are simply unrepentant no doubt.

@ johndoe pls my brother dont mind all these gej ass licker. we all remember beaf and the rest of them that were insulting our common sense. i would not be surprise if one of them is abati or any of the other traitors parading as special advisers.

Ibime:

Fresh Air 2011!

Odechukwu was surprised at the amount of people he had to buy off to get the Presidency. Instead of using the Presidency to fight the corrupt elements, he decides to entrench them with 7 years reward having decided that it is too expensive to bribe the whole nation to win elections every 4 years.

The slowpoke forgot the stench and fart he endorsed and enthroned as Governors (the likes of T.A Orji, Timi Sylva, Uduaghan etc) just so they could deliver delegate votes, and forgot that they will be serving 7 years with him  - with immunity clause intact.


The fool called Odechukwu had long signalled his intention to make a mockery of the anti-corruption fight with his light-handed approach to the likes of his SW campaign chief OGD, Ohakim and the selective prosecution of Bank-ole so he can gloss-up on his ephemeral visit to America. Now that his visit to America is done, Bank-ole is no longer front page news and has been quietly relegated till the story dies a natural death.

Odechukwu is slow in speech, slow in manner, and dishonest in intentions. The bungling fool is a shame to the voting electorate.

God bless you ojare . Jonathan simply want to be deceitful and treacherous in the manner we have now come to associate him with. This tenure extension is simply a ruse to get him out of his pledge that "I will only serve one term" . When people expect you to serve for 4 years , what better way to make it almost two terms by inventing a 7 years single tenure that means (1) GEJ does not face an election and (2) he remains technically correct about the original assertion of "serving only one term"? GEJ and his fans should be ready to 'own' any chaos that ensues . I have always called him a leader who is very dangerous for Nigeria . People can see why now.

He is starting early by making this his priority , while ignoring the many serious problems of Nigeria, because he has learned lessons from OBJ's failed third term efforts. Start early, face the rancour , ignore the killings and chaos, ignore pressing issues of governance, shun the plight of ordinary Nigerians, bribe folks like money is going out of fashion and GEJ gets his 7 years in the end. That is the storyline. Lets see if reality will toe the line.

Every single person here with the exception of Odunnu is an ethnic jingoist. Dont forget Na-so.

You are totally correct although I think Papabrowne probably has a bit of decency in him. The rest have just proven themselves to be myopic apologist of Jonathan merely because they are connected via region of origin. Sad, pathetic and a stark indicator of the problems afflicting Nigeria. They know the dull, dour and undeniably mediocre history of GEJ yet they hold brief for him and held him up , especially Beaf, to be the best thing to happen to Nigeria. Sheer Madness . It would be like me fervently supporting Gbenga Daniel to be President merely because we are both Yoruba . God forbid I would ever do a thing like that i.e support a terrible gamble that would affect the lives of 150 million people just because I cannot see beyond ethnicity. I thank God I am not that type of human being.

Misleading headline! It is a single tenure bill. I love it but the govt shld make a good legislative plan to check-mate abandon projects that accompany a change in govt.

Demdem:

honestly u are just spilling dust. this thread is now on its 6th page i guess. so you are telling me that you haven't seen any reasonable thing peeps have written on why this bill should be killed on arrival. Most GEJ apologists are simply unrepentant no doubt.

Indeed . They are very dishonest folks as well . I have reproduced what I wrote earlier on page 3  . This dishonest chap should come and counter it instead of pretending as if no counter-argument has been produced against this inane and garishly self-serving bill.

You are the ignorant person for thinking that this changes anything. Jonathan has not fought for true federalism, devolution of power from the centre, the convocation of sincere talk amongst Nigerians (SNC), purist implementation of the Uwais electoral reform recommendation et al yet you applaud this long-winded approach that is pandering to self-servitude more than anything else? If Governors and the President have only one long term of 6 - 7 years does it take rocket science genius for us to see that this worsens things ? The greatest thugs in Nigeria will now be attracted to politics because of the win-win situation of having a relatively long period to plunder resources unchallenged and uninterrupted. There is no incentive to perform because folks know they will not be returning whether they lead well or not .

You must not be paying attention to the suggestions of bright Nigerians who posit that making political office less attractive ,through a series of solid measures , is the way forward. Jonathan has not advocated any of these commonsense measures, perhaps because he is not a sincere feloow,  yet you defend him for this selfish move that is a senseless attempt to turn a 2 mile hike into a 2000 mile marathon !!!! This is not electoral reform and you know it.

Reform Nigeria sincerely and electoral reform becomes automatic to the point that political office is no longer a do-or-die affair. Where is the robust push for laws that ban those involved in electoral malpractice? Where is the suggestion of stiff punishment for corruption , for a Nation being destroyed by corruption, when China execute corrupt politicians?  Where is the attempt to move Nigeria away from an "awoof" FG system that is unjustifiably expensive and unproductive? Where is the effort to remove the hands of Government from certain affairs so as to lessen executive access to avenues for self-enrichment that makes political positions 'very' attractive ? Where is the effort , far more important than this selfish bill, to bring transparency and modern efficacy to our contract award system so that politicians are not easily able to self-award lucrative contracts through conduit companies? There is a lot to be done to reform and streamline political office in Nigeria so that it becomes a position of service rather than a position of self aggrandizement. A 6-7 year single tenure is not one of those things and only an "ignorant" person would posit it is.  GEJ is just an insincere opportunist. Simple as that .  

Nsiman:

Misleading headline! It is a single tenure bill. I love it but the govt shld make a good legislative plan to check-mate abandon projects that accompany a change in govt.

Of course you would . Afterall , you are one of GEJ's die-hard fans . The point we are missing , that keeps most of us unsophisticated politically, is that every single day we have individuals vying to become politicians (President, Governors, Senators, Reps et al) because they know stupendous wealth awaits them when they succeed. To that end , performance can never depend on the length of time in office when the DOA factor (dead on arrival ) applies as per how those entering important office have nothing to offer in the first place !!!!

Election violence and 'monetized' politics will never end either because , regardless of tenure length , the attraction to stupendous wealth , that political office represents currently,  will not lessen in future without the dogged, systematic, dedicated and resolute use of reform tactics that simply reduce administrative office to one of servant to the people rather than what we have currently .

This is why some of us shouted ourselves hoarse proclaiming that Nigeria needed a brave and reform-minded President who would go about things in the right order. Reforming systems and institution , with total sincerity, will be a far more effective and enduring way to secure the changes we all want. Tenure length, single term, two terms are all the diversionary tactics of those not willing or able to tackle the unavoidable reforms that are directly required to turn our Nation around .

Johndoe100:


The president has a point, but you people are not looking at the issue rationally. Most of de govs spend half of term on election and 1st year learning. This will let them have focus on work and time to do it.

1025:


@johndoe100,

may God kill u, your point alonside your rationale.

^^^
(I really shouldn't be laughing at 1025's comments but i couldn't resist it. I'm sorry )

mbulela:


that is the reason why some patriotic Nigerians like myself are asking for an ammendment to the bill.
No need for elections in future.Neither primaries,secondary and all what not.present occupants should stay there for life and in the event oftheir death,they must have it written in their will who inherits their post and it must not be subject to any court of law.Infact we can ask Odili to help us obtain an indefinite injunction against the chosen beneficiary of the inherited position.
This will save us all this billions that Inec and jega would need for future elections and would ensure that GEJ is able to spread permanent fresh air to every corner of this great nation.
4 years is not enough,neither is 6 years enough. A lifetime is barely appropriate.
continuity is essential.
GEJ for life!!!

Btw it shd'nt Βε̲̣̣̣̥ how far but how well

All Jonathan apologists here on Nairaland, kindly read this article below and judge yourselves.

http://nigerianstalk.org/2011/07/27/yinmu-the-cynics-guide-to-tenure-elongation-and-single-term-limits/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+Nigerianstalk+%28NigeriansTalk%29
Yinmu*: The Cynics Guide to Tenure Elongation and Single Term Limits
JULY 27, 2011 7:21 PM

Author:

Feyi Fawehinmi

Comrades,

I regret to announce, with much sadness, that we have lost Dr Reuben Abati. He has gone native. We knew it would happen but it doesn’t make it any less painful to see for those of us who have always respected the man for his writings in The Guardian Newspapers.

A man can at least do a very thankless and impossible job with some sincerity. But what Dr Abati has done with his press release on tenure elongation is to deliberately attempt to deceive the Nigerian public. We know that Dr Abati can reason very clearly but the arguments he puts forward in this press release are aimed squarely at those who will not scrutinise the matter beyond gear 1.

Let us parse…

President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is to send a Constitution amendment Bill to the National Assembly that will provide a single tenure for the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Governors of the 36 states of the Federation.  In the envisaged Bill, the tenure of members of the National and State Assemblies will also be a little more than four years, although lawmakers will still be eligible for re-election as their constituencies may determine.

The attempt to deceive begins from the very first paragraph above. Notice the highlighted word ‘also’. The statement doesn’t say the President’s tenure will be elongated in the first sentence, but by the second sentence, it assumes you know this already. A little more than 4 years? What on earth does this mean? My suspicion is that this is the President’s banana to the National Assembly i.e. they will be allowed to decide their own tenure in exchange for pushing through this bill. As long as it’s only ‘a little’ over 4 years. Given that not a few lawmakers have been complaining about the ROI from running for the senate and the possibility of making a loss on said ‘investment’, one can only imagine they will be delighted at this opportunity to dodge the electorate for a couple of more years.

President Jonathan’s commitment to a single term for the President and Governors is borne out of a patriotic zeal, after a painstaking study and belief that the constitutionally guaranteed two terms for Presidents and Governors is not helping the focus of Governance and institutionalization of democracy at this stage of our development. A longer term for lawmakers would also help to stabilize the polity.

In this one paragraph, Dr Abati tells us from the left side of his mouth that a single term will help to focus governance and institutionalise democracy. He then tells us from the right side of his mouth that a longer term for lawmakers (he’s really toasting the lawmakers here), who will NOT be restricted to a single term (see paragraph 1) will stabilize the polity.

Not only will our lawmakers have longer terms, they will also be able to run more than once. Why not just book them into a spa and hire Geishas to look after their needs seeing as they are so vital to Nigeria’s progress?

The most dangerous phrase in this whole press release for me is however ‘constitutionally guaranteed’. This is a complete lie and it signals how Dr Abati and co are going to frame this argument in the days ahead. What he’s effectively saying is that our elected officials are ‘guaranteed’ 2 terms in office i.e. he has manufactured a problem out of thin air so he can solve it. Voila! Remove this guarantee by restricting them to a single term (excluding the lawmakers of course).

How come this guarantee did not apply to Governors Adebayo Alao-Akala and Ikedi Ohakim in the April elections? Is Dr Abati now telling us that elections are a formality where incumbents are concerned seeing as they are ‘guaranteed’ a second term? This is ridiculous. I don’t have stats to hand but I am willing to guess that more incumbents lost elections in 2011 than in 2007 including some decent lawmakers in the South West who were kicked out of office because of their party. Even if it’s at snail speed, there is evidence that we are making some progress in exacting revenge on our leaders for bad performance at the polls.

Painstaking study and belief? I am willing to accept the belief part but painstaking study? Please.

President Jonathan is concerned about the acrimony which the issue of re-election, every four years, generates both at the Federal and State levels.  The nation is still smarting from the unrest, the desperation for power and the overheating of the polity that has attended each general election, the fall-out of all this is the unending inter and intra-party squabbles which have affected the growth of party democracy in the country, and have further undermined the country’s developmental aspirations. 

Ah I see. The problem is because elections are held every 4 years which we can solve by increasing the tenure by a couple of years. This of course doesn’t give the people planning the ‘acrimony’ even more time to perfect their desperation. Oh no it doesn’t. Our democracy is now like a vigorously shaken bottle of coke; just leave it on the table for a few minutes before opening to prevent the contents erupting all over the place when it meets oxygen.

In this paragraph, the argument seems to have changed from single term to the length of the term. 4 years is too short….this is why we are having problems and people are fighting all the time.

By the way, ‘polity’ is my new favourite word.

In addition, the cost of conducting party primaries and the general elections have become too high for the economy to accommodate every four years. The proposed amendment Bill is necessary to consolidate our democracy and allow elected Executives to concentrate on governance and service delivery for their full term, instead of running governments with re-election as their primary focus.

I am lost here. I know of the N87bn that was allocated to INEC to conduct the 2011 elections. And even at that, we can all agree that the costs were high due to the fire brigade approach and the adoption of bio-metric technology in building a new voters register. So strictly speaking, any cost outside of this is NOT Nigeria’s business or problem.

Again Dr Abati has created a problem for the WHOLE of Nigeria which politicians should be taking sole responsibility for. In February it was announced that all Nigerian billionaires worth the name were coming together to raise funds for the President’s re-election campaign. We were never told how much was raised but your guess is as good as mine. How is Dr Abati then able to turn around with a straight face and allude to the cost of conducting elections? If the President gets all our billionaires to fund his campaign, what does he expect to happen afterwards? For the billionaires to go and sit quietly in the corner and watch him for 4 years?

It’s also amazing to see Dr Abati attempt to separate governance and re-election as if they were mutually exclusive. Why did Governor Fashola of Lagos get 83% of the vote in the gubernatorial elections in April? Was it because he spent 4 years campaigning instead of actually running the state? Are we being told that the electorate are incapable of rewarding good governance and punishing bad leadership?

The issue of the cost of running our elephant sized government has also been conveniently ignored. 75% of our budget being allocated to recurrent expenditure is the same thing whether it is over 4 years or over 7. Need I remind the good Doctor that our budgets are prepared on a yearly basis? Why not get to work in trimming this thing around the neck of our country?

This clarification has become necessary in the light of certain reports in a section of the media that the proposed Bill is meant to elongate President Goodluck Jonathan’s tenure.

Nothing can be more untrue. The energy that has been devoted to speculations on the content of the likely bill is akin to an attempt to force the abortion of a non-existent pregnancy.  The details of the Bill will be clear in terms of its provisions when it is forwarded to the National Assembly for consideration. The President makes it clear that his push for a single tenure for the office of the President and that of the Governors is not borne out of any personal interest. The proposed amendment will not have anything to do with him as a person; what he owes Nigerians is good governance, and he is singularly committed to this. Besides, it is trite law that the envisaged amendment cannot have a retroactive effect. This means that whatever single-term tenure that is enacted into law by the National Assembly will take effect from 2015.

Before nko? Of course he can’t make it retroactive. The issue here, again conveniently ignored, is not about the current term Mr President is serving. That is a moot point. What many people have sought to know is that if this amendment becomes law by 2015, will Mr President put himself up for re-election again to ‘taste’ the fruit of his ‘labour’? This will of course mean that Mr President would have served 1 year of Mr Yar’Adua’s term, 4 years of his own term and x number of years of the new single tenure.

Dr Abati goes on to say that Mr President assures that he will not be a beneficiary of the proposed amendment. Dear readers, if I type such an assurance on an A4 paper for you with the President’s signature attached to it, how much will you be willing to pay for it?

Democracy is difficult and problematic. There are hardly any silver bullet solutions to be found anywhere. All that is available are tradeoffs. There are plenty of problems with an elongated single term assuming we wanted to even consider it as a viable alternative to the status quo.

Has Dr Abati thought about the puppetry that will ensue? Will this not make Governors and everyone else restricted to a single term even more determined to install their puppets to succeed them? 2 terms of 4 years present the people with an opportunity to achieve real change at the ballot. A bad governor who is gunning for a second term will not be able to prop up a puppet or ‘acolyte’ to take his place simply because he cannot chase two rats at the same time. Ergo, if he loses the election, the people get real change.

Will Governors and the President also be barred from re-contesting for their offices after they have been out of office for one term? Here the Argentine example is instructive; Nestor Kirchner was President of the country from 2003 – 2007. He then ceded the Presidency to his wife, Cristina Fernandez in 2007 (even though he was allowed to run for another term) and was widely expected to run for office again this year before he suffered a heart attack and died in October 2010.

What Mr Kirchner did was to further entrench Kirchnerismo seeing as he was restricted to being president for 12 years in total i.e. 2 consecutive terms of 4 years and then a further term after being out of office for one term. By handing over to his wife (at the peak of his popularity in 2007), the Kirchners could simply rotate the presidency between themselves indefinitely every 4 years without activating the part of the constitution about 2 consecutive terms.

It is also hard to understand why the President thinks this is such a wonderful idea. A list of political term limits across the world shows that if Nigeria were to adopt this single term limit/tenure elongation, not only will we be the only country in Africa to adopt such a model, we will find similar models in such great democratic countries like Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico, Paraguay, Philippines and Israel.

What exactly is going on here? Why put this out there at the risk of derailing everything else including power reforms and other pressing national matters?

I see the hand of the President’s wily Senior Adviser on Strategy in all of this (a friend of mine never fails to remind me not to underestimate him). Whatever the case may be, the first shots have been fired. There will be more.

FF

*Yinmu is slang for a cynical turning up of the nose when someone says something you don’t believe a word of.

AUTHOR: FEYI FAWEHINMI
Website: http://aguntasolo.posterous.com/

I am glad you started that list off by stating that the reasoning you offer are PERSONAL and not necessarily based on that which is known to be the case.

reini:

1) It'll give politicians in power more of an incentive to leave a legacy, in that they know when they're done, they're done

You mean the same politicians who are elected into POWER do not already have POWER to accomplish in the first year what they could even in the 6th year? Please explain how you came about the above?

Also, how exactly does it give the politicians an incentive to leave a legacy when there are numerous examples of politicians who have spent 28 years in office and left NOTHING of the such at the end of all that? We also have examples of those who have spent less time in office and still left nothing of the such, so what evidence do you have, based one what we have discovered of how our politicians work, do you have to make such a claim? I mean explain this incentive you claim. I want to understand this reasoning of yours.

reini:

2)Frequent elections have a higher social cost on society, activities come to a standstill, etc.

Do you have any proof to support this claim ?? What higher social cost on society, activities etc are you referring to?  It is sort of clear, in Africa's history that we pay more when we do not give the people a chance to decide(that is actually what an election boils down to -- an organized event to get people to collectively voice their opinion on how the country/State/Community is being run). 

reini:

3)Inumbents tend to focus more on canvassing for support for the next four years rather than fosusing on serving

Is this the norm or just your view of how incumbents act? The Last I checked, when you get hired for a job, you get to work --- convincing your employees through your output, that you are the one to be retained for the position etc. Now, if a clueless person takes office and decides to focus more on canvassing, rather than doing the job he/she was hired for. Does that not clue you into the fact that the candidate is likely the wrong one for the position?

thank God i did not vote him because i knew it from the on set that this shoeless GEJ had nothing to offer even if umblella was to be the one occupying that position im very sure she would perform better than i had no shoes, i had no boxers blah blah blah

The bill is not necessary.

This is just card playing exercise. He is looking for moral justification to contest for reelection in his party.

Why does he want to waste his time on fruitless exercise. Who will elongate tenure for him?? Nobody.

He will need to spend billions of naira on this. Why not concentrate on delivering his promise and perform well.

If he perform well people will ask for him to contest for another term.

Where are the fools blindly following Jonathan? Read this!

Six-yr tenure: PDP to drive process … faces 2 opposing camps in govt
on JULY 31, 2011 · in NEWS

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is the proposed vehicle to be used by the proponents of the controversial move on the six-year single term for the president and state governors, to push the process of amending the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Sunday Vanguard can reveal.

There were also indications at the weekend that the issue has split the Presidency into two camps. There are those rooting for President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to take the risk of arranging the six-year tenure move such that he could be a beneficiary. Others are cautioning against it.

The president has said he is consulting but the disagreement among his loyalists in government was said to have forced him into a dilemma on the issue.

Jonathan, last Thursday, clarified his position on the matter at the National Executive Committee, NEC, meeting of the PDP where he made it clear that the idea was not his own. Those cautioning the president are made up of those insisting that he should play the statesman and not be drawn into seeking to contest for the six-year single term if the constitution amendment is passed while others are of the view that there was nothing wrong if he decides to contest on the basis of the amendment.

Sunday Vanguard was told, last Friday, by one of the leaders of the party from the South-South geo-political zone that the early national convention of the PDP, slated for February next year, would “possibly mark the commencement of the process for the actualization of the amendment of the constitution to accommodate the intended amendment of the proposed bill”.

The reason for this, the source explained, “is because President Jonathan would have completed his consultations by then and it would be left for the party to drive the process. Any attempt by President Jonathan to drive the process may be misread by members of the public as proof-positive that he wants to benefit from the proposed amendment.

“Once the party has elected its officers into the new NEC, with the national chairman emerging from the North-east geo-political zone (and the office of the president still retained in the South-south), it would be the responsibility of the NEC members to sell the plausibility of the amendment to state governors and leaders of the party across the nations.

“Mind you, the PDP is still not short of the two thirds requirement concerning state assemblies needed to endorse whatever has been passed by the National Assembly and it would be the responsibility of the new leadership of the party across the country to properly articulate the benefits of the amendment to the nation as a whole”, the source further explained.

After a proper nationwide sensitization, Sunday Vanguard understands that the National Assembly would swing into action immediately the proposal has been presented to it.
On the face of it, “the idea might appear to come with the benefit of doing away with the acrimony that normally accompanies re-election, but if the attitude of politicians does not change, the crisis of succession might itself be as bad if not worse than what we are trying to avoid”, the source cautioned. “And that is why it is better if the party drives the process”.

However, within the Presidency, there are those who are now being referred to as the hawks and whose position is that Jonathan would not be flouting any law in the event that the amendment is done in his favour and he seeks to contest.
Their position is hinged on the fact that without the proposed amendment, the president is entitled to seek re-election under the current order and, therefore, should not be denied that right because the constitution is being amended.

“In fact, it can also be argued that those proposing the amendment and trying to bar President Jonathan can also be accused of deliberately wanting to deny Mr. President the opportunity of doing a second term”, one of those referred to as the hawks in the Villa said.

On the other hand, however, are those who are of the view that the president should just tread softly, gauge the mood and sentiments of Nigerians before attempting any further comments on the matter.

Source: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/07/six-yr-tenure-pdp-to-drive-process-faces-2-opposing-camps-in-govt/