Abubakar expressed the displeasure in a statement issued by his Media Adviser, Mr Paul Ibe, on Tuesday in Abuja, while reacting to the rejection of the bill by the House on Monday.

He said that he was disappointed by the fact that the lawmakers had thrown away the baby with the bath water at the expense of the larger interest of the country.

Abubakar said that in view of the challenges facing Nigeria current democratic order, especially the culture of rigging that subverts the will of the people, six-year single term would have ended such untoward practices in its electoral process.

“The desperation for second term by the incumbents is the main reason why they go for broke and set the rule book on fire, thereby making free and fair elections impossible by legitimising rigging at the expense of their challengers that have no access to public funds.

“A situation where the incumbents deploy more public resources to their second term projects than using the funds for people’s welfare encourages massive rigging that undermines electoral integrity.

“Six-year single term would remove such desperation and enable the incumbents to concentrate on the job for which they were elected in the first place.”

Abubakar regretted that eight-year term of office rewards incompetence because even incumbents that have failed would use their access to public funds to return to power by fair or foul means.

“I don’t agree with the logic that eight years would give elected leaders better opportunity to fulfill their campaign promises.

“An inherently incompetent incumbent will perform below average even if you give him/her 20 years in office or give him or her $20 billion dollars,” Abubakar stressed.

According to him, it is not how long a man spends in office, but how well he is adequately prepared for the job.

He argued that the desperation for second term was not necessarily driven by patriotism or the passion for service, but by the obsession with the greed for power for its own sake.

“Second term obsession rewards incompetence by allowing failed incumbents to be reelected regardless of their performance record.

“It also denies political parties the opportunity to replace failed incumbents with better candidates within the parties in the name of right of first refusal.”

The former vice president said that the rejection of the six-year single term was a mistake because little attention was paid to its merits.

Abubakar said that eight years tenure of four years each sacrificed merit because the incumbents were automatically entitled to re-election regardless of their performance records.

He was, however, of the view that current holders of the offices under the proposed constitutional review should not be entitled to a six-year term at the expiration of their second term.

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National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, announced this on Wednesday in Abuja at the end of a three-hour meeting between governors elected on the party´s platform and the National Working Committee (NWC).

The party had on Tuesday, constituted a 10-member technical committee headed by Gov. Simon Dalung of Plateau to advise its leadership on the way forward on the tenure issue.

This followed President Muhammadu Buhari´s recent opposition to NEC’s approval of tenure extension for the NWC and all executive committees of the party at all levels across the country, made at its meeting on Feb. 27.

Buhari had said at another meeting of NEC in Abuja on March 26 that the NWC’s tenure extension decision was illegal and unconstitutional.

The NEC had extended the tenure of the Odigie-Oyegun-led NWC and other executive committees by one year, starting from June.

The president had explained that the decision was causing acrimony within the party, with some members not comfortable with the matter, dragging the party to court.

“The Governors and the NWC of our party decided to sit and look at the issues that were seemingly dividing us.

“I want to say to you with absolute satisfaction and pride that all the issues that you have been commenting on has been completely and totally resolved,’’ Odigie-Oyegun said.

He said that the technical committee constituted to look into the issue would submit its report latest on Thursday to enable the NEC to look at it.

“The Chairman of the technical committee has reported that his report will be ready latest this evening or by the very most, early tomorrow morning.

“This report will be placed before NEC on Monday and appropriate decision will be taken and thereafter, we shall announce to you the further steps we are going to be take,” he said.

The chairman, however, added that the party´s next steps would depend on its NEC considering on the committee´s recommendation.

He assured that the APC was back as one united and focused party, strongly behind Buhari and its executives across in the states.

Commenting on the issue, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Malam Bolaji Abdulahi, told newsmen that final decision on the tenure extension issue was with the party´s NEC.

“It is left for the NEC to decide, and if the committee recommends that the position of NEC should be maintained, then there will be no need for an elective convention.

“Then, the president and those who are concerned that the decision we have taken is correct or not, will have more confidence in the position of the party.’’

The APC spokesman, however, said that if the technical committee recommended that congresses should be held, the party´s NEC would consider that.

Governors elected on APC platform, had at a meeting with Buhari on Tuesday unanimously agreed that the party should hold a congress to settle the extension issue and others.

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Its Chairman, Mr Musa Saidu, told our reporter on Wednesday in Lafia that one year was not even enough for the officials to settle into the offices, study the concerns of the people, and order their priorities.

It was reported that the state government had approved a one-year tenure for elected local government chairmen and councillors, with fresh elections conducted every year.

Saidu, who described the tenure as “unrealistic”, wondered what the officials could achieve in one year after months of campaigns during which they made promises to the electorate.

He called for a review of the tenure to “at least three years” to give the elected officials ample time to fulfill their promises and execute projects that would improve the living standards of the rural dwellers.

The APGA chairman observed that the one-year tenure was not cost effective, saying that the task of conducting local government elections every year constituted “a huge drain” on limited resources.

Saidu also expressed APGA’s support to the move by the National Assembly to abolish State Independent Electoral Commissions.

“Abolishing State Independent Electoral Commissions will restore public confidence in local government elections.

“Currently, state governors manipulate the processes because they appoint and control the electoral officers. The ruling party merely selects the officials with results often announced before the polls begin,” he claimed.

Saidu urged state Houses of Assembly and other stakeholders to support the move to grant autonomy to local governments to enable them function properly as the third tier of government.

“If local governments become autonomous and INEC is mandated to conduct their polls, their tenure will be the same in all states and their impact will be much” he said.

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