The Deputy President of Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, has urged Nigerians to take advantage of the forthcoming National Conference to push for a single term system for the executive.
Ekweremadu restated the call at a forum on “Succession Challenges in Nigeria’’ organised by the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria in Abuja on Thursday.
He said that in the present situation Nigeria had found itself, a single term system for the executive would ensure stability and harmony.
He contended that opponents of the system ensured that it did not scale through the National Assembly.
However, it could become a reality if delegates to the forth coming national dialogue revived it in their deliberations, Ekweremadu said.
“I don’t want those in support of the single term system to give up because we have an alternative means to achieve this laudable agenda.
“The forthcoming national conference can provide for a single term to start in 2019 when all existing political interests of governors and President would have been exhausted.
“Democracy is dynamic, the conditions and terms vary from country to country and we can adjust our own to suit our peculiar situation.
“We will not be alone in this system because there are other countries around the world that have adopted this system effectively’’, he said.
The lawmaker said that the raging controversy about who would become the president or not would die a natural death if the single system was adopted in the constitution.
He urged politicians to be mindful of their utterances as the nation moved closer to the 2015 elections.
Ekweremadu said that signs emerging from some political groups and individuals were indications of anarchy and warned that the polity could be thrown into confusion if politicians were careless in their conduct.
He assured Nigerians that the National Assembly would continue to discharge its responsibility and support INEC in all its activities before, during and after the elections.
He said that the National Assembly would ensure that the proposal submitted for the amendment of the Electoral Act was approved by the legislature before the middle of the year.
Earlier, the Secretary General of CSN, Rev. Fr. Ralph Madu, said that the forum was part of the church’s contributions to the debates for a free and fair 2015 elections.
He said it was the belief of the church that politics must be played with decorum and respect for the human life.
According to him, the church must contribute to the processes leading to the elections.
“The purpose of this gathering is to contribute to the national discourse from the perspective of the Catholic Church. It is the view of the church that the issue of succession must be taken seriously because it affects all strata of the society’’, he said.