Governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi, has recommended that legislators in Nigeria be given fixed tenures to save the cost of training new entrants into the assembly on legislative processes. The governor also suggested that an age limit of 70 years should be enforced for lawmakers in both the upper and lower chambers of the National Assembly.
Umahi made these recommendations during an appearance on Sunrise Daily, a breakfast show on Channels Television, on Wednesday. He noted the cost of training new legislators, stating the need for fixed tenures, particularly when lawmakers have failed to perform to the satisfaction of their constituents. According to him, the reason lawmakers are not re-elected is often due to their inability to bring change to their respective communities.
The Governor said, “The tenures of the executives are fixed, the tenures of the legislators are not fixed. And you have to ask yourself, have we really benefited by not fixing the tenures of legislators?” He suggested that constituents should be able to have a say in governance by being part of the government, allowing projects to be completed under the auspices of the legislator representing the constituency.
Furthermore, he noted that legislators should serve a fixed tenure and age limit of 70 years, with a maximum of three tenures of four years. Governor Umahi also faulted the notion that the National Assembly served as a retirement home for governors, insisting that “It’s a place where they want to put the experiences they acquired over the years in the governance of their states to move the nation forward.”
While Governor Umahi’s suggestions have been met with a diversity of opinions, it remains to be seen if the National Assembly will take any action on this issue.
