2015: still on Jonathan’s eligibility

Were a deputy or someone else to have taken over in such a circumstance, we cannot say it does not count into the future entitlement of such a person that he or she  would be serving out more than three years of the unexpired term of another. This is precisely why the tenure of a […]

Were a deputy or someone else to have taken over in such a circumstance, we cannot say it does not count into the future entitlement of such a person that he or she  would be serving out more than three years of the unexpired term of another. This is precisely why the tenure of a president in the circumstance of Goodluck Jonathan cannot be explained by sheer number of elections. It cannot be ignored that such a person had exercised the powers of the presidency prior to winning an election of his or her own.
If the intention of our constitution is that a president cannot serve more than 8 years in office, I do not see how the ambition of President Jonathan can be accommodated without an amendment of that Constitution via a judicial pronouncement. If he were to contest and win the 2015 election, he would by 2019 have exceeded the 8-year limit. Except their hands are tied, amending the constitution would be one way to smuggle President Jonathan in for re-election in 2015.
I invite the wise men of the judiciary to take a look at the U.S. 22nd amendment for guidance. The integrity of the judiciary must be asserted or preserved, even as the exalted judges also consider the national interest in their most sensitive assignment. The world is watching.

Anthony Akinola, Oxford, UK <[email protected]