Constitutional amendment: Atiku proposes bold recommendations for rotational presidency

In a bid to advance the course of constitutional democracy in Nigeria, former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar has proposed amendments to the National Assembly in line with the ongoing effort to revise the 1999 Constitution.

Atiku’s proposals, addressed to the Deputy President of the Senate and Chairman, Senate Committee on Constitution Review, Senator Barau Jibrin, and dated 30th August 2024, contains recommendations that border on themes like procedures for the educational qualification of candidate(s) in elections, internal democracy in political parties and rotation of presidential position among the six (6) geo-political zones of the country.

According to the explanatory note covering the proposals by the former Vice President, the amendments that he seeks in the review of the constitution aim at the following:

1.  These amendments seek to raise the standard of the educational qualification of political office seekers

2.  An end to violent takeover of political parties and thereby strengthening internal structure of political parties

3.  Reducing the tendencies of political parties to breach the constitution, electoral act, rules and guidelines made thereunder, and the constitution of the political party

“The implication of the above is that political parties are allowed a very wide latitude to breach the perimeter of laws on elections.

“Such indiscipline by political parties and infidelity to the electoral parameters yield chaos in the system.

“The above amendments will enthrone the discipline that is needed in a democracy,” Atiku stated.

The recommendation for rotational presidency in the proposal reads thus:

a.   Add paragraph “A” to section 130(1) to read – “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.

b.  Amend Section 135(2) to read – “subject to the provisions of the subsection (1), the President shall vacate his office at the expiration of a period of Six Years commencing from the date.

c.   Amend Section 137(1)(b) to read – “he has been elected to such office before.”

It will be recalled that the former Vice President was a flagbearer of the major opposition political party in the 2023 presidential election.

Thus, the recommendations that he has put forth to the National Assembly for amendments in the country’s election laws are areas where there are pitfalls in the subsisting laws regulating elections in Nigeria.