NIBORO DEFENDS JONATHAN OVER PROPOSED SINGLE TERM
Immediate past special adviser to the president on media and publicity, Mr. Ima Niboro, has said that President Goodluck Jonathan deserves commendation and not condemnation over his proposed constitution amendment bill to allow governors and president to serve a single term of six years.
Speaking with journalists, in Abuja yesterday, Niboro said the proposal is aimed at reducing the red-hot friction that is consistently generated every four years as incumbents try to return to office and encounter stout resistance from their opponents.
The single, six-year tenure proposal, he said, would guarantee that once the president or governor is elected, he stays focused on getting the job done, rather than working for political appeasement, in anticipation of the next election.
According to him, one of the greatest problems Nigeria is confronted with is the issue of orderly succession devoid of friction.
He said: 'We find a situation where the transition from one government to the other is generally acrimonious, bitter and sometimes even deadly. Many times the emergence of killer-groups has been linked to succession politics. The purpose of President Jonathan's proposal, therefore is to reduce the tension usually generated in the polity as a result of the politics of self succession.'
Niboro said the do or die nature of Nigeria's succession politics would be greatly mitigated if incumbents do not seek re-election. He also explained that usually when a governor or president assumes office, the initial years of settling down are usually spent to pacify crucial political interests 'such that by the time he settles down to work and do the real business of governance, it's already the third year when every decision, contract award, and appointment he makes appear to be tailored towards re-election.'
He said if these considerations are put in proper perspective, the proposal is apt and will go a long way in dousing the tension usually associated with the nation's transition periods. He added that Jonathan's sincere motive for the proposed bill was to ensure that governance proceeds without the usual hindrances of politics of succession, noting that it could also address the general inclination for rotational presidency.
On insinuations that the proposal maybe a tenure elongation plot, Niboro said: 'President Jonathan is a trustworthy leader, a man whose word is his bond. He has never lied to Nigerians, and as such, we should trust that he means what he says, and means well for the country.'