Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, has proposed a constitutional amendment seeking to introduce a single six-year tenure for Presidents and State Governors in Nigeria.
According to a report by PUNCHNEWS, Bamidele disclosed the plan during a media interaction in his office on Tuesday, saying the proposed bill would be among the first he intends to present when the 11th National Assembly is inaugurated after the 2027 general elections.
He explained that the objective of the reform is to improve governance by eliminating the pressure of re-election, which he said often distracts elected officials from delivering effective leadership.
According to him, the current two-term system compels officeholders to spend a significant portion of their first tenure preparing for re-election instead of focusing fully on governance.
“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, is a bill that will make it possible for anyone who wants to be president or governor in any part of the country to spend only one term of six years,” he said.
He argued that a single tenure would encourage leaders to maximise their time in office from day one.
“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,” he added.
“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 generate debate across the political space but maintained that legislative reforms are necessary for national development.
He stressed that laws must evolve to reflect changing governance needs and public expectations.
“The essence of law, the essence of parliament, is that laws are like human beings; they grow,” he said.
If eventually passed by the National Assembly, the bill would require a constitutional amendment and approval from state legislatures before becoming law.