The National Association of Nigerian Students has voiced strong opposition to a proposed bill advocating a single six-year term for the President and state governors.
According to The PUNCH, NANS condemned it as “anti-democracy” and a move to undermine the electorate’s choice.
This follows the recent proposal by 35 House of Representatives members, known as Reformed-minded Legislators, who last week introduced the bill.
They argued that implementing a single six-year term and rotating the presidency among Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones would reduce governance costs.
However, NANS responded by urging Nigerians, pro-democracy groups, organized labour, and trade unions to rally against the bill.
At a press conference in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Thursday, the National Clerk of the Senate of NANS, Yekini Adewale, labeled the bill as a “smokescreen” meant to distract Nigerians from current economic hardships.
NANS threatened to organize nationwide student protests if the bill progresses, with Adewale warning that such a law would undermine political accountability, transparency, and responsibility.
“Democracy thrives on the synergy between the three arms of government,” Adewale stated, “but when the legislature proposes and potentially passes laws that stifle people’s choices or disrupt democratic principles, it is disheartening and must be opposed. NANS, as a non-governmental organization and a pressure group advocating for the survival and sustainability of our democracy, not only condemns the proposed bill but also calls on Nigerians to resist this step by unscrupulous politicians with selfish agendas.”
He further warned, “If the proposed bill becomes law, our democracy is in jeopardy. Any president or governor, knowing they cannot seek re-election, may prioritize personal gain over delivering good governance. Removing the second term option from our constitution extinguishes the electorate’s power to vote out underperforming leaders.”
Adewale emphasized NANS’s commitment to mobilizing students against the bill.
“As a student body, we shall organize mass protests against these bills that seek to erase accountability, probity, transparency, and responsibility from our elected leaders,” he declared. “To show our rejection of these anti-democratic, anti-people, and anti-progress bills, we will designate a day for Nigerian students to march against the National Assembly,” he said.
