If you are one of many Nigerians obsessed about Buhari's alleged third term ambition come 2023, the president may have just settled the matter once and for all in a recent statement he made on Friday at a meeting of the national executive committee (NEC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja.
President Muhammadu Buhari said, there's no such thing as third term ambition since he swore on oath to abide by the constitution, which stipulates a maximum of two terms of four years each for any elected president in the country.
If that's not convincing enough, the president seem to be preparing for life after his second term, urging members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), to not allow their political ambitions leads to the collapse of party after he's gone.
He said, “I’m not going to make the mistake of attempting a third term. Beside the age, I swore by the holy book that I would go by the constitution and the constitution said two terms."
Buhari then made a statement we believe would require a follow-up statement for clarification. He said, "I know that I’m in my last term and I CAN AFFORD TO BE RECKLESS because I’m not going to ask for anybody’s vote.”
Speaking further, he said, “Every member of NEC from today should reposition himself or herself to make sure that you have dominated your constituencies politically. The aim is that history will not be fair to us outrightly if the APC collapses at the end of this term,” he said.
“History will be fair to us if APC remains strong and not only hold the centre but make gains.”
The statement by the president can be said to be timely, but that is, if you can bet your life on it. Can you trust a president who believes in the constitution, but fails to recognize the constitutional powers of the Legislative and Judicial arms?
Should the president actually keep to his words by calling it a day at the end of his second term, there's still the contentious issue of which part of the country would produce the next president under the APC.
The North has already made clear its desire to keep power beyond 2023, something the South west says is unacceptable.
It is very likely that there won't be a Buhari government beyond 2023, but the likelihood of a South Western president is something we can only leave to time.
