PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan, on Sunday, dismissed the insinuations that the constitutional amendment being proposed has been suspended following the criticism it had attracted, saying there was no question of suspending it since it had not been submitted in the first place.

Presidential spokesman and Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati, while speaking with newsmen in Abuja, on Sunday, said that the proposed bill was still in place.

He observed that the debate following the arrival of the proposal in the public domain had been healthy, noting that there appeared to be more people who supported the idea than those who opposed it, even though most of its supporters wanted the idea to be delayed.

Abati was, however, concerned at the level of partisanship in the debate as he observed that there were members of the opposition who did not even want to consider the merits in the proposal.

He said: “People have asked whether the president had withdrawn the proposal or bill on single term tenure. My immediate reaction is to tell people that how do you withdraw something that has not been tabled?  It is a proposal and still at the level of proposal. It is still at the level of an idea and it has generated a debate out there.

“And at the moment if you check the debate, you will find out that there are as many people supporting it as there are people who are criticising it. In fact, in my own estimation, there are even more people supporting the idea. It is just that they say well, I support the idea but I think it is what we need. Maybe the issue should not be brought up now,” he said.

Blaming the misconception on opponents, he observed that “what you  must also know is that there has been a lot of partisanship developing around the discussion of the idea and I see that certain persons, who do not even want to consider the proposal at all, who do not even want to look at the rationale behind it are just inventing all kinds of stories, including saying it has been jettisoned; it has been withdrawn. It is not on record anywhere that the president said he was no longer interested in that proposal.”

Continuing, he said: “Even some political groups that initially opposed it are now saying, oh we think it is a good idea but we are giving the president conditions and the conditions being that he will not benefit from it and when I read such reports, I say what is the matter here?

“The president already said that from day one.  So, how does that amount to a condition? What I have observed is that the more people reflect on the proposal, the more they consider it worthy. And the good thing about democracy is that all of us are upholding the debate. About the withdrawal, you don’t withdraw something that you are yet to table,” Abati declared.

On Boko Haram, the president’s aide was confident that government would not sweep under the carpet the report of its facts finding committee which is expected to be received tomorrow (Tuesday), though there might be some aspects which would not be publicised because of their security implications.

According to him, “you can be confident that the president will act on the recommendations. You note that on the issue of Boko Haram, there had been a lot of consultations. The president has met with various stakeholders. That committee was then sent up as a follow-up and what has been established clearly is that security in any part of Nigeria is something that the president takes very seriously.

“Given the calibre of people involved and the efforts that have been made to set up that committee and the seriousness of the Boko Haram challenge, you can be sure that this is not a report that will be swept under the carpet,” he said.

Responding to the criticism of the president over his perceived slow pace, Abati noted the inauguration of the cabinet and the fact that all the ministers were actively pursuing their various mandates around the country.

Meanwhile, emerging facts have confirmed that the fifth session of the House of Representatives, under the leadership of its speaker, Honourable Aminu Bello Masari, actually approved the six-year single tenure proposal  for the president and governors, long before the proposal was mooted and adopted by the Inter-party Committee on Electoral Reforms, set up by the late president, Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua, in 2008.

Investigations by the Nigerian Tribune confirmed that  former deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Austin Opara, introduced the six-year single term clause into the acclaimed third term debate in 2006, as a way of dousing the tension the third term bill had generated.

Opara, during the debate on the constitution amendment bill of 2006, introduced an amendment which, he said, was initially rejected at the Port Harcourt, Rivers State, retreat of the Joint Committee on Constitution Review (JCRC), set up by the two chambers of the National Assembly.

He said the six-year single term clause would enhance power rotation among the regions of the country, adding that he had discussed with his constituents and a number of his colleagues on the floor of the House.

He also told the House that the then president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and the governors who had enjoyed a two-term of four years would not benefit from the single tenure plan, which was meant to start from 2007.

Details of the debate, as contained in the Hanzard of the House of Representatives of May 17, 2006, indicated that the submission was greeted with loud applause and the bill was passed through the second reading.

The bill also passed through the third reading on May 17, but could not see the light of day, as the Senate had shot down the third term bill in its entirety.

Honourable Masari had told the lawmakers on May 18 that since the bill could not make it at the Senate, it had, therefore, died a natural death.

The debate contained in the Hanzards of the House of Representatives — National Assembly Debate (House of Representatives, Tuesday, May 16, 2006 (pp79-83) saw Honourable Opara submitting as follows: “…Finally, on the vexed issue of tenure, I am making it known to this parliament and Nigerians that I had consulted adequately and I have heard from our colleagues. What has come out of this debate is that the proponents, some people that have spoken for, have dwelt on the personality and the sterling qualities of Mr President.

“I believe that we should build institutions. We should build the House of Representatives, not speaker.  Our position should be how do we build the House of Representatives; not how to build the speaker. Our position should be how we build the Senate, because that is an institution and not the Senate president.  Our position should be how we build the presidency, not the president (applause).

“I want to say clearly that Mr President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has done well.  He has the qualities, he has done well. But I want to say further, and I stand to be contradicted, that, as the presiding officer here, Mr President has never told me that he wants third term (applause). I have never read in any paper about Mr President saying that he wants third term.  It came out from the report of the committee, probably some members of the committee felt it was proper, considering his qualities; some Nigerians felt it was proper, but I stand by the fact that Mr President has never said he wanted a third term.

“Therefore, talking about three terms of four years each, the implication is 12 years for a zone.  I have said that I stand by rotation, because I believe that my zone is being marginalised and we should have a shot at it.  I believe that those zones that have not had it should have a shot at it. If you talk about three terms of four years each, the implication, as I said, is 12 years per zone.  It would mean that a member or anybody from the South-West, including Honourable Bewaji, could only think of presidency in the next 60 years. That simply is the implication.

“The major problem we have is civilian to civilian transition. The problem of second term is there with us.  The power of incumbency — people trying to perpetuate themselves in office — is the problem we have. We are now thinking of third term, meaning that we would have more of that difficulty. I want to repeat that I still stand by rotation. Therefore, for it to get to the other zones of this country, my position is that we should have single term of six years which - (prolonged interruptions)

“The Speaker: Order! Order!! Honourable Austin Opara, please, conclude your contribution.

“Hon. Austin A Opara: Mr Speaker, having made my position known to this parliament, I want to further say that I have a written text to this effect. I want it on record for me that, having consulted Nigerians, including some of my colleagues here, the commencement of this single term of six years should be from 2007 and that no president or governor that has done two terms should benefit from this amendment.”

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