JUST IN: Reps Call For Two Vice Presidents, Single 6-Year Term For President

A group of 35 House of Representatives lawmakers have proposed a bill to restructure the nation’s executive arm of government.
Led by Ikenga Ugochinyere, the lawmaker representing Ideato South/Ideato North Federal Constituency of Imo State, the lawmakers are calling for the creation of two vice presidential positions and a single six-year term for the president.
The bill aims to ensure equal representation among Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones and reduce tensions around the creation of new states.
If passed, it would establish the positions of “The 1st vice shall be a succession Vice president, while the 2nd Vice president shall be a Minister in charge of the Economy, and both shall be Ministers.”
Additionally, the bill calls for a single six-year presidential term to “reduce government spending and wastage” and promote “efficiency in governance and national stability.”
Governors would also be limited to one six-year term under the proposal.
This is coming about three months after about 60 members of the House of Representatives proposed bills to alter the 1999 Constitution to return the country to parliamentary government as practised in the first republic to reduce the cost of elections in the country.
“Our founders in their wisdom and a political atmosphere devoid of compulsion, and having considered the interests of their native peoples and their desire to live together in a country where truth and justice reign, where no man is oppressed, and where all citizens live in peace and plenty, adopted the parliamentary System of Government.
“That was the governance system of the First Republic, a period when legislative and executive powers were exercised by the representatives of the people in parliament and the executive, and by the nature of the system these representatives were accountable to the people.
“For six years while it was in operation, the system worked for the country. The collapse of the First Republic and the long stretch of military rule culminated in the adoption of a new system of government, theoretically fashioned after the Presidential System of the United States but in practice imbibed the uttermost attributes of military rule.
“No wonder the Nigerian President appears to be one of the most powerful Presidents in the world.
“Over the years, the imperfections of the Presidential System of Government have become glaring to all, despite several alterations to the constitution to address the shortcomings of a system that has denied the nation the opportunity of attaining its full potential,” Abdussamad Dasuki, the spokesman of the lawmakers had said.