The government has accepted a recommendation by the Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) to extend the tenure of both the President and Parliament from four years to five years.
Presenting the government’s White Paper on the committee’s recommendations, Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, said the proposal is intended to give governments more time to implement and assess their policies before seeking a fresh mandate.
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According to him, the current four-year cycle leaves limited time for effective governance because the early months are spent on transition while the final year is dominated by election activities.
“Our thinking is practical. Under the current four-year cycle, the early months of every administration are consumed by transition matters, and the final year is largely consumed by elections,” he said.
Dr Ayine noted that a five-year term would provide a more realistic timeframe for policy formulation, implementation and evaluation.
The Attorney General also announced that the government had accepted, in principle, a recommendation to lower the minimum age for presidential candidates, but with a modification.
While the Constitutional Review Committee proposed reducing the eligibility age from 40 years to 30 years, the government has opted to set the minimum age at 35 years.
“The minimum age will be 35 years, not 30 years. And of course, the details of this will be fashioned out by the Constitutional Review,” Dr Ayine stated.
