Tag Archives: Second Term

Reps Moves To Bar Acting President, Governor From Second Term

Posted on by
23

A Bill seeking to amend the 1999 Constitution and limit the tenure of an acting president or governor to a single term, passed second reading at the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

The amendment bill is sponsored by the deputy speaker and chairman, Special House Ad hoc Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, Yussuff Lasun.

The bill provides that no person who had held office of president or governor of a state, or acted as president or governor of a state for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected president or governor, shall be elected to the office of president or governor of a state more than once.

The aim of the bill? is to give constitutional protection to the two term tradition as contemplated by virtue of the combined provisions of sections 137(1)(b) and 182(1)(b) of the Constitution.

These sections provide that the president and governor of a state shall serve in those capacities for a maximum period of eight years.

“However, the Constitution equally envisaged circumstances where a person can be chosen to act as president or state governor, such as when the president or a governor resigns, dies or is impeached,” Mr. Lasun said.

If passed, an acting president or acting governor who served for more than two years in a four-year term, shall only be eligible to contest election to the same office only once.

Such law would have prevented former president Goodluck Jonathan from seeking a second term in 2015.

Mr. Jonathan took over as acting president in 2010 after serving as Vice President since 2007.

This proposed amendment, the deputy speaker said, was inspired by the 22nd amendment to the constitution of the United States of America.

It provides that “no person shall be elected to the office of the president more than twice.

“And no person who has held the office of president or acted as president for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected president shall be elected to the office of president more than once,” Mr. Lasun added.

Credit: NAN

Thoughts On A Second Buhari Term By Sonala Olumhense.

Posted on by
Reply

Barely three weeks after the chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), John Odigie-Oyegun, said party leaders would prevail on President Muhammadu Buhari to run for a second term in 2019, presidential spokesman Garba Shehu confirmed last week his principal will indeed run.

Every Nigerian is entitled to seek public office, and to serve as many terms as the constitution allows.  To that end, President Buhari is qualified to seek a second term, but 18 months into the current term, amidst mounting doubts, is an awkward time to be thinking about another four years.

That is because Buhari is unlike any Nigerian ruler since independence, including Buhari 1.0.  Unlike anyone else, President Buhari 2.0 came to office with the clearest of mandates: purge the Augean stables.

As he took his oath of office in May 2015, it was clear that if he made appreciable progress on this mission, Nigerians would camp out on the streets in 2019 to beg him to continue.

The problem is that, contrary to what the President now seems to think, Nigerians fear that his fangs may really be made of wool; his teeth too soft for the akara.

Shehu was responding to Buba Galadima, a politician who had said that should Buhari seek re-election in 2019, he would lack popular support, an assessment the spokesman dismissed as “unfounded and utterly ridiculous.”

In the words of Shehu, ”President’s enormous goodwill remains ever strong because the people are convinced the President is acting in their best interest, despite the temporary unintended consequences of reforms.”

As one of those who strongly advocated Buhari for President, believing that of the principal candidates on the ballot in 2015 he was the answer to Nigeria’s prayer, it is obvious that if this is what the Buhari administration really thinks of the 18 months it has served, it is reading the wrong tea leaves.

But part of it is true: no baby is delivered without pain.  True change, or reform, travels on the back of pain.  But the presidency must avoid the temptation to explain injury in the language of an insult.  It must avoid the kind of cleverness which advises the voter that if he weren’t so stupid, he’d be able to see.

How to do that?  One approach that committed leaders have always adopted is to change those who read its tea leaves.  Put differently, the leader must find the courage to put in office people who are not afraid to tell him the truth.  The government can ask the people directly to point to what aches, and how much.

Best of all, in the face of rising criticism, the leader is best advised to choose not self-righteousness, but a new understanding and commitment, because many a bad journey is salvageable when it is discovered early that pride comes before a fall.

To help Buhari to understand why there is such restlessness in the land, here are a few excerpts from his famous Covenant With The Nigerian People, which he published just before his election.

“No matter how vast our resources, if they are not efficiently utilized, they will only benefit a privileged few, leaving the majority in poverty,” he wrote.  “I believe if Nigeria does not kill corruption; corruption will kill Nigeria.”

And then, among others: “I pledge to:

Publicly declare my assets and liabilities and encourage my political appointees to also publicly declare their assets and liabilities. Affirm that our strategy for tackling corruption will not only focus on punishment. Rather, it will also provide incentives for disclosure and transparency. Show personal leadership in the war against corruption and also hold all the people who work with me to account. Work with the leadership of the National Assembly to cut down the cost of governance.  Present a national anti-corruption Strategy.

Lead a government founded on values that promote and protect fundamental human rights and freedoms.  I will promote the supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law, affirm separation of the powers of government and support an independent judiciary.  Present a detailed strategy for protecting the fundamental rights and freedoms provided for [all] in our Constitution.

I will give all it takes to ensure that our girls kidnapped from Chibok are rescued and reunited with their families.  Deliver a Marshal Plan on insurgency, terrorism, ethnic and religious violence, kidnapping, rural banditry and ensure that never again will Nigerian children be slaughtered or kidnapped at will. Boost the morale of our fighting forces and the generality of Nigerians by leading from the front as the Commander-in-Chief and not hide in the comfort and security of Aso Rock.

Commit myself and my administration to the protection and regeneration of the environment in the Niger Delta and to ensure that oil companies comply with global best practices on environmental protection.   Sustain and streamline the human capital development in the Niger Delta, especially focusing on youth and women.

Continually acknowledge our diversity and consciously promote equality and equity in all government businesses and activities.

Unveil a health sector review policy to ensure efficient and effective management of our health systems with focus on prevention.   Ensure that no Nigerian will have any reason to go outside the country for medical treatment.

Embark on a program of mass mobilisation to ensure that all children of school age, no matter where they may reside in our country, and no matter the social conditions of their parents, are in school.  Work with other levels of government and through relevant government agencies to allocate resources to schools while strengthening community participation in school management.  Implement a comprehensive review of the goal and content of our secondary education to ensure that it also serves the purpose of skills acquisition and fits purpose.

Make agriculture a major focus of the government and lay the institutional foundation to attract large-scale investments and capital to the sector.  Actively promote a well-coordinated and innovatively funded Youth in Commercial Agribusiness Programme.  Revamp the agricultural cooperative system to drive rural agriculture and improve stakes for smallholder farmers.  Develop a system of small-scale irrigation systems to ensure all-year round farming.

Address the gaps in power sector privatization to ensure it serves the needs of our people.  Explore and develop alternative sources of power such as small, medium and large hydro plants, wind, coal and solar and other forms of renewable energy to ensure efficient and affordable power supply.”

These excerpts from the President’s voluntary covenant are not the past, but the future.  It is why I have previously argued that he needs not more than one term to make the fundamental change of uprooting business as usual.

The problem is that just as some leaders often think that a four-year tenure is a very long time, eight years is unfortunately but grudgingly considered the basic minimum—ask one Olusegun Obasanjo—required to do anything.  And then it is too late.

The Buhari challenge is neither long nor complicated.  It is a robust anti-corruption response.  Anti-corruption is the key to change; change is not the key to anti-corruption.  But if the fundamentals cannot be done in four years, they cannot be done in eight, either.

In other words, it is not preposterous that Nigerians may be unaccepting of justifications and excuses.  And they know that if we are already talking about 2019, time is running out.

sonala.olumhense@gmail.com
Twitter: @SonalaOlumhense

Dominican President, Medina, Sworn In For Second Term

Posted on by
14

The Dominican Republic’s President, Danilo Medina, was sworn in Tuesday for his second term, after riding an economic boom to win re-election in a landslide despite deep and lingering poverty.

Dressed in a white suit with the red, white and blue presidential sash draped across his chest, Medina took the oath of office before the Caribbean tourist paradise’s National Assembly.

His audience included Presidents Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, Evo Morales of Bolivia and Rafael Correa of Ecuador, three of Latin America’s most outspoken leftists.

Medina, a 64-year-old economist and head of the centrist Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), won the country’s May 15 election with 62 percent of the vote after pushing through a constitutional amendment to allow him to stand for a second four-year term.

On the eve of his second inauguration, his government boasted of its accomplishments over the past four years: investment in education, loans and support for small farmers, and a sharp drop in poverty, from 42.2 percent of the population to 32.3 percent.

The economy grew seven percent last year and is on track to grow six percent this year, according to the UN’s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Read More:

http://guardian.ng/news/dominican-president-medina-sworn-in-for-second-term/

Why Does President Jonathan want a Second Term Sef? by Tanimomo Oluseun .A.

Posted on by
1
Nigeria is one of the few countries that would vote in a man who after almost two decades in the helm of affairs would come around, put a bowler hat on a black traditional wear and declare, ‘I had no shoes.’ To us it seems the wise counsel of one of my acquaintance, who was contesting for the post of a Hall Chair in my university makes no sense; the said acquaintance reasoned during the Hall debates, ‘don’t ask a politician what he will do, he might lie, ask him what he has done and you will know who he is’. Unfortunately, in 2011, when Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, contested, we did not bother to ask him how he had spent his 19 years of service as an Assistant Director of OMPADEC (Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission), deputy governor, governor, vice president and president. We did not bother, the fever was infectious, the dreams were high, his good luck was desiring, the air was fresh and breathtaking and he was a ‘god-fearing’ man. So, we refused to harken to our father’s words, we refused to judge the man by the work of his hands and en masse, sans rigging, the gentleman from Otuoke became the President and Commander in chief of the armed forces.
 
However, recent happenings, have taught us and the man who occupies one of the most influential seats in Africa that a large chair does not make a king, to say the least the President has not been ‘kingly’ in any of his activities. In spite of the numerous failures that have trailed the administration of the incumbent president, it is rather unfortunate that the Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology still seeks a second term. The biggest fish in the large Nigerian administrative aqua has refused to see that the river in which it swims is gradually de-watered by corruption, insecurity and other agents. It is even worse that President Jonathan has made an enemy of those who point out the weaknesses in his sense of judgment but the man from whose head lice have been removed shouldn’t be ungrateful?
 
In my humble estimation, the president has failed in his promises and oaths as the president, so no second term for the president, abeg! One cannot go back to the farmer from whom one borrowed seed-yams to plant to say that beetles have eaten up the seed-yams; not only has the President failed woefully in economic matters, the president has also aided corruption and abated transparence. Corruption at the moment is at an all-time high, not only are some of his officials corrupt, the president has also encouraged, embezzlement, bribery and nepotism, think of Oduahgate, Otehgate, and think of the outcome of the fuel subsidy 1.3Trillion and Nuhu Ribadu’s report. Think of the fact that the President removed oil-subsidy and till date there are no clear explanations for the removal of fuel subsidy. Worse still, accountability in the oil sector seems to be the elusive leopard.
It should not get worse, we need to stop this economic hemorrhage and one of the fastest ways to halt this cancer is to halt a second term presidency of President Goodluck Jonathan. His infamous statement that ‘stealing is not corruption’ only lends to the narrative that the president is both unguarded in speech and governance. If you watch your pot, your food will not burn, the Boko Haram insurgence has grown out of proportion mainly because the president delayed in arresting the situation. It would not have been a bad idea if he had ordered the Nigerian Military to wage a full-blown war on these insurgents. Furthermore, his late response to the Chibok Kidnapping is far from being commander-in- chief-like; it is to say the least, disappointing and cowardly. Does a man not know when he has pepper in his eyes? Is it not annoying that in spite of the security challenge that we are facing and with no respite in sight, the President still thinks he needs a second term? The President has a full mouth of challenges already so one wonders what he needs another mouthful for?
The child that will sell the family’s property is known from childhood, every time I think of another four years of a Jonathan presidency, the duo of Mr Fix Nigeria andWendell Smith comes to mind, not only have these two disappointed the young generation by churning out blatant and stupid lies about the progress of this administration they have stifled the voices of reasoning. I imagine the enormous power these two will wield by 2019 supposing President Jonathan wins another term. These two and other youths who are enjoying from the present windfall will not only have earned millions to step into the shoes of the existing corrupt politicians they will also have the power of religion on their sides to cajole Nigerians into doing their biddings. The ‘Rome was not built in a day’ and ‘e go better’ maxims will then sell well like Iya Femi’s Akara on a Ramadan evening.
In a similar vein, the President has not paid attention to education, growing up, Federal Government Colleges were some of the best schools parents sent their children to for quality education; this has not been the case in recent times. It is even more saddening that at the moment, a private university, Covenant University, according to the Webometrics rating is the second best university in Nigeria.  If a load is too heavy for someone to carry, one would be better off to give the load to the ground to carry. It seems the burden of the presidency is too heavy for our president to carry, it will only be the responsible thing for him to turn a deaf ear to sycophants who are encouraging him to contest.

When the face is washed, you finish at the chin, I will like to end here but the president should be reminded that no one forgets the discussion of last night just because we went to bed, the 20Billion, the Immigration recruitment sham, his incessant travelling to Europe with his wife to ‘rest, his submitting of Nigeria’s sovereignty to the United States of America by inviting the President of the United State to come and fix Nigeria would have earned a president an impeachment in other climes.
Nigerians are not swayed by the President’s constant religious venues marathoning. Religion should be a private matter; neither are we persuaded by the infrastructural projects: all these have been included in the budget, we want a President who will tackle the Boko Haram menace, create respectful jobs for youths, provide social amenities, good education and healthcare system but all these do not seem to be priorities to this present government.
I am a positive Nigerian youth and I believe in a better Nigeria but I also realize the limits of wishful dreaming – a shrub never becomes an Iroko tree by dreaming. Wishing good luck on Nigeria is not the answer, hard work and funding of research, science and technology are some of the prerequisites to a working economy and government.
Views Expressed are Solely Author’s.

Jonathan Expected to Announce Second Term Bid

Posted on by
Reply

President Goodluck Jonathan is expected to formally declare his bid for re-election, Tuesday,  in a widely anticipated announcement that has been trailed by his office for weeks.

 The event, in central Abuja, has been billed as “the mother of all rallies” by Jonathan’s own 205-member re-election committee, with roads shut from early morning to the evening, police said.

Jonathan’s supporters took out four-page newspaper advertisements on Monday calling for Nigerians to “be a witness to history” and saying his candidacy was “in response to Nigerians’ demand”.

“Nigerians endorsed Goodluck Jonathan for continuity,” the adverts ran, claiming that more than 17.8 million had so far endorsed his candidacy.