The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) opposed the law demanding a single six-year term for the President and state governors, calling it “anti-democracy and an attempt to stifle people’s choice”.
It should be noted that 35 members of the House of Representatives, led by a group of legislators, filed a bill last week calling for a single six-year term for the President and state governors.
Lawmakers propose rotating the presidency among the country’s six geopolitical zones to save government costs.
However, in response to the bill, NANS urged Nigerians, pro-democracy groups, organised labour, and trade unions to mobilise against it.
At a news conference in Abeokuta, Ogun State on Thursday, the National Clerk of the Senate of NANS, Yekini Adewale, branded the bill as “a smokescreen” to deflect Nigerians’ attention away from the current economic hardships and agonies that Nigerians are experiencing.
The top student body threatened to mobilise students across the country in a demonstration against the legislation.
According to Adewale, if the bill becomes law, it will undermine political leaders’ accountability, probity, transparency, and responsibility.
“Yes, democracy thrives on the pedestal of a synergy between the three arms of government, but when a key arm, such as the legislature, proposes bills and peradventure passes laws that stifle people’s choices or throw spanners in the wheel of the tenets of democracy, then it is disheartening and must not be allowed.
“NANS, as a non-governmental organisation and the only pressure group that has been agitating for the continued survival and sustainability of our hard-earned democracy from being truncated, does not only condemn the proposed bills but also calls on Nigerians to move against such steps aimed at achieving a selfish agenda by some unscrupulous politicians.
“If the proposed bills are allowed to see the light of day, then our democracy is in total jeopardy.
“Any president or governor who realises that he cannot seek a second term in office may rather busy himself feathering his own feathers instead of delivering good governance to the electorate.
“Expunging the second term from our constitution is synonymous with extinguishing the only power the electorate has to vote out any non-performing president or governor.
“As a student body in the country, we shall mobilise our members massively against these bills seeking to ensure accountability, probity, transparency, and responsibility from the elected executives and lawmakers.
“To further demonstrate our rejection of these anti-democratic, anti-people, and anti-progress bills, a day will be set aside for Nigerian students to embark on a mass march against the National Assembly,” NANS Senate Clark said.
