In a rare display of bipartisan consensus, the state chairmen of Nigeria’s two leading political parties in Cross River State—Barrister Alphonsus Eba of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Barrister Venatius Ikem of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)—have thrown their weight behind the growing call for a single six-year tenure for the President and state governors.
Speaking in separate exclusive interviews with DAILY POST to mark Democracy Day, both party leaders emphasized that a one-term structure would ease governance pressures and reduce political tension often associated with re-election campaigns.
Alphonsus Eba, the APC chairman, stated, “I totally agree with the popular call for a single tenure of six years because it puts less pressure on the President and Governor with all the associated strain of re-election, which is often cumbersome.”
Echoing similar sentiments, Venatius Ikem, the PDP chairman, described the proposal as “imperative,” pointing out that the recommendation has been part of Nigeria’s political reform discourse for decades.
Ikem, who was a member of the 2006 Political Reform Conference, questioned the delay in implementing the recommendation. “One wonders why the reform recommendation is still on the shelves,” he remarked.
He added that the model has already been successfully implemented in Nigerian universities with Vice Chancellors, effectively eliminating the friction that typically surrounds second-term bids.
As the debate over constitutional reforms intensifies, the unified stance from both sides of the political aisle in Cross River adds momentum to the push for a single-term tenure—potentially reshaping Nigeria’s democratic structure in the near future.
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