APC member seeks amendment of constitution to allow President Buhari contest third term

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ebonyi state, Charles Enya, has filed a suit seeking the amendment of the constitution to allow President Muhammadu Buhari to go for a third term in office.

Naijaparry understands that Enya filed the suit before a Federal High Court in Abakiliki, the state capital last week.

The defendants in the suit include the National Assembly; the clerk of the assembly, Mohammed Sani-Omolori; and the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami.

Enya, who served as the Organising Secretary to Buhari during the 2019 general election, described the two-term tenure limit for presidents and governors as “discriminatory”.

He asked Malami as well as the National Assembly, to remove constitutional clauses hindering elected presidents and governors from seeking a third term in office.

The APC member is seeking possible expungement of both sections. According to him, “that section 137(1)(b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,1999 (as amended) restricting the president to only two terms of four years each, is inoperative by virtue of its discriminatory nature in relation to the executive and legislative branches of government in Nigeria, and therefore null and void and thus inapplicable”.

He is seeking an “order of the court nullifying and setting aside section 137(1)(b) and 182(1) (b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended). And directing the first and second defendants to delete and expunge sections 137(1)(b) and 182(1)(b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, (as amended).”

Recall that President Buhari has dismissed reports that he is interested in a third term . Buhari made this known last week Friday at a meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja.

The president, who is in his first year of four-year second term said history would not be fair to members of the ruling party if the APC collapses after his second term.

“I’m not going to make the mistake of attempting a third term,” the president said.

“Besides the age, I swore by the holy book that I would go by the constitution and the constitution said two terms. I know that I’m in my last term and I can afford to be reckless because I’m not going to ask for anybody’s vote.

“Every member of NEC from today should reposition himself or herself to make sure that you have dominated your constituencies politically. The aim is that history will not be fair to us if outrightly if the APC collapses at the end of this term,” he said.

“History will be fair to us if APC remains strong and not only hold the centre but make gains.”