Atiku wants Nigeria to adopt 6-year single-term rotational presidency

The former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has asked Nigeria to adopt a six-year single-term rotational presidency between the southern and northern regions of the country.

Atiku made the proposal in a letter to Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau, who is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitution Review.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flag-bearer in the 2023 election presidential election sought that his proposal be considered in the ongoing constitutional amendment process by the National Assembly.

The letter dated August 29, 2024, but made public this week, bore the signature of Atiku.

Atiku proposes 6-year single-term presidency

He sought that paragraph ‘a’ be added to Section 130 (1) of the 1999 Constitution to read thus: “The office of the President shall rotate among the six geopolitical zones of the Federation on a single term of six years flowing between the North and South on the single term of six years respectively.”

He also requested that Section 135 (2) be amended to read: “Subject to the provisions of subsection 1, the President shall vacate his office at the expiration of a period of six years commencing from the date when he has been elected to such office before.”

Atiu has been dubbed a serial contender for the presidential seat having contested six times with no luck.

In his last outing in 2023, the PDP flag-bearer polled 6,984,520 votes, behind winner and former Lagos State Governor, Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who garnered 8,794,726 votes.