The Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, has called for a constitutional amendment against the separate four years in office for elected political office holders across all levels of government in Nigeria. The governor has proposed a five to six year single tenure expressing confident that it’s a model that must work.

While hosting Muslim faithful led by the state Deputy Governor, Bayo Lawal, including traditional rulers and political office holders in his residence in Ikolaba, Ibadan, shortly after the Eid-el-Kabir prayers on Friday, the Governor shared this idea.

Giving reasons, Makinde stated that any reasonable government would utilize 5-6 year single term appropriately to serve the people and fulfill their mandate.

He said; “First, let me use this opportunity to say Barka Da Sallah to our Muslim faithful, and we shall have the opportunity to celebrate many more by the grace of God.

“I was just looking at the trajectory for me in government. I have spent six years already, and due to no fault of anybody, we lost the year 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We lost almost one year, campaigning all over the place for the second tenure. Now, people have started distracting us from what I want to do next and all of that. So, I feel that, effectively, the time we can say we are very serious with governance is just about five out of the eight years.

“That is why I feel that if you remove all these distractions, a single tenure of five or six years is actually enough to focus and do the work that we are trying to do in eight years.

“Well, we shouldn’t be afraid to say the fact based on the data that is available to us. It has nothing to do with me. If they say I should end it, so be it.

“So, I am just calling the attention of our people to this because it is a constitutional issue. We should start looking at it. I know that it has been brought to the attention of the National Assembly, but, quite frankly, it is a model that should work for this country.”

In his remark, Oba Ladoja, who spoke on behalf of the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Owolabi Olakulehin, thanked Makinde for commiting himself to workers’ welfare by always paying their salaries as at when due. He also lauded him for caring for the entire citizens of the state as he called on them to collaborate and support the government.

Other dignitaries that were also hosted include; the Otun Olubadan of Ibadan land, Oba Rashidi Ladoja; former state Deputy Governor and PDP Deputy National Chairman, Taofeek Arapaja; former deputy governors, Hazeem Gbolarumi and Hamid Gbadamosi; member representing Ibadan North-East/South-East Federal Constituency, Abass Adigun Agboworin; and Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland, Edo and Delta States, Dawodu Makanjuola.