Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele has announced plans to sponsor a bill that would replace Nigeria’s current two-term system with a single six-year tenure for presidents and governors, arguing the change would allow elected officials to focus on governance rather than re-election.
Bamidele disclosed the proposal during a media interview on Tuesday, saying the bill would be among the first he intends to introduce when the 11th Senate is constituted after the 2027 general elections. Under Nigeria’s current constitutional framework, presidents and governors may serve a maximum of two four-year terms.
The Senate leader argued that this arrangement often pushes elected officials to begin positioning for a second term midway through their first, at the expense of governance. “If you know you are there for six years, only one tenure, you put in your best from day one.
You know this is the only chance that you have,” Bamidele said.He acknowledged the proposal would not attract unanimous support but maintained that lawmakers have a responsibility to pursue governance reforms, adding that laws must evolve with national realities.
Should the bill be formally introduced and passed, it would require sweeping amendments to the 1999 Constitution and ratification by at least two-thirds of state Houses of Assembly. The proposal echoes a long-running constitutional debate that has resurfaced at various points since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar similarly advocated for a six-year single term during his presidential campaign, also proposing that the presidency rotate among Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones. Critics of the single-term model argue that a second-term option gives voters the power to reward performance or remove underperforming leaders through the ballot.
