Jonathan Can't Dictate To Us! 6yrs Tenure Must Start In 2015 ––Senate Dares President

Nigeria's political landscape is set to witness a serious battle of some monumental dimension as the Senate has vowed not to succumb to President Goodluck Jonathan, OluFamous.Com gathered, on the amendment of the constitutional provision on tenure of office, saying it must start in 2015.

Consequently, President Jonathan’s re-election bid is now hanging in the balance...
The Senate Committee on Amendment of the 1999 Constitution have insisted that the single term proposal must begin in 2015 and not 2019.

Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, told Punch in an exclusive interview that the date would not be changed. He was reacting to comments by the Political Adviser to the President, Ahmed Gulak, who was quoted as saying that the single tenure proposal was targeted at the President and first term governors.

Ekweremadu, who is the chairman of the committee, said the proposed amendment could not be targeted at Jonathan but all Nigerians, who stand to benefit.

Responding to Gulak on Tuesday, Ekweremadu said: “The argument should be: will it serve the best interest of Nigerians and help promote our democracy? Will it engender sustainability in the system?

“Let us be objective and not subject it to people’s whims and caprices. It is the people’s assessment of the recommendation that I think will help us. Once we begin to have a subjective assessment of it, we are going to run into problems.”

Also speaking, a member of the committee, Senator Adegbenga Kaka said:
“I don’t know what our problem is in this country. As early as 2011, it was President Goodluck Jonathan who first proposed a single term that would preclude him from the race. If it was proposed, and our committee included it in its proposals to the Senate, what is the issue?

“We, like most Nigerians, agree that the cost of running elections in this country is too high, what we have done is simply to say, instead of spending so much money, in fact wasting so much money on re-elections, let us do things differently.

“This money can put to better use by improving the lives of our people. We should look at the message and stop looking at the messenger."