Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidate for 2023, has submitted a request to the National Assembly for constitutional amendments to establish a six-year single term for both the President and state governors.
In a memorandum addressed to the Senate Committee on Constitutional Review, he also suggested rotating the presidency between the North and South. He stated that the presidency should rotate among the six geopolitical zones of the country, with each zone serving a single six-year term.
Atiku called for an amendment to Section 135(2) to specify that “the President shall vacate his office at the expiration of a period of six years,” in accordance with subsection (1).
He also proposed replacing the term “aspirant” with “voter” in Section 285(14)(a). Furthermore, he recommended that the minimum educational requirement for candidates seeking election should be an Ordinary National Diploma rather than the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination, suggesting that Section 65(2)(a) be revised to state, “He has been educated up to at least Ordinary National Diploma in any recognised academic institution.”
Additionally, Atiku proposed adding a paragraph to Section 65(2)(a)(i) that would require candidates to submit evidence of their educational qualifications to the Independent National Electoral Commission, or an affidavit if their certificates are lost, detailing their educational history.
Finally, he advocated for enhancing the authority of political parties in selecting candidates, proposing an amendment to Section 65(2)(b) to ensure that candidates are registered members of a political party, which must submit a list of its members to the Independent National Electoral Commission 30 days before the party’s primary elections.
