Constitution amendment: South-East demands rotational presidency

The people of the South-East have demanded for a constitution that allows rotation of presidency and grants full autonomy to local government in the country. They made the request during the South-East zonal public hearing on review of the 1999 Constitution organised by the Senate on Friday in Enugu. Speaking during the exercise, Governor Peter […]

The people of the South-East have demanded for a constitution that allows rotation of presidency and grants full autonomy to local government in the country.

They made the request during the South-East zonal public hearing on review of the 1999 Constitution organised by the Senate on Friday in Enugu.

Speaking during the exercise, Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State noted that the concept of rotational presidency was of paramount to the South-East.

The governor said the state believed that adopting a rotational presidency among the six geopolitical zones would provide every region, including the South-East, a fair chance at the highest office in the country.

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Mbah, represented by the secretary to the Enugu State Government, Professor Chidiebere Onyia, added that the idea would foster a greater sense of belonging and national unity.

“Similarly, we propose that governorship should rotate among senatorial zones and legislative seats among constituencies, ensuring broader representation and participation at all the levels of governance.

“To further enhance inclusivity, particularly for women, we propose legislative seats. We advocate one additional Senate seat per state for women and two additional House of Representatives seats per state,” he said.

On his part, Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State called for creation of an additional state in the South-East to bring them at par with other geopolitical zones of the country.

Nwifuru, represented by the Speaker of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly, Moses Odunwa, also called for women inclusion and reserved political seats for women.

“If a particular seat has been designated for women, all the parties would feature female candidates to fill in the space,” he said. (NAN)