By John Alechenu

The founding National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Chekwas Okorie, has stated that what Nigeria urgently requires is restructuring and a credible electoral process, rather than a single six-year term for the executive as proposed by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

Atiku had submitted a memorandum to the Constitution Amendment Committee of the National Assembly, advocating for a single six-year term for the office of the President.

Speaking in a phone interview with Vanguard, Okorie explained that the idea of a six-year single term is not new, noting that much has deteriorated since the proposal was first raised two decades ago.

He pointed out that the late Vice President, Alex Ekwueme, made a similar suggestion during the 1994 National Conference convened by the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha.

Okorie said, “While I don’t completely oppose the six-year single-term idea, I believe Nigeria’s pressing need is restructuring to give every citizen a sense of belonging.

“What we need now is a credible, technologically driven electoral process where people’s votes truly count—not the flawed system we currently have.

“You might recall that Alex Ekwueme proposed the six-year single term during the national conference organized by General Abacha in 1994. If we had implemented it, the presidency would have rotated among the six geo-political zones, and after 36 years, each zone would have produced a president. This could have eased fears of domination and reduced the perception of certain regions being treated as second-class citizens.”

Okorie further referenced the 2014 National Conference organized by former President Goodluck Jonathan, where consensus was reached on 660 issues, including restructuring, but lamented that Jonathan lacked the courage to implement the recommendations.

He concluded, “We need to restructure Nigeria in a way that makes the presidency less attractive. For instance, the state of California in the United States is the richest, yet there is no agitation to leave the union because the system works effectively.”