I stand by the Nigerian Constitution on term limit for President – Lawan
The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, has denied a tweet attributed to him where he purportedly hinted a tenure elongation for President Muhammadu Buhari through a constitution amendment.
In a statement on Tuesday by the media adviser to Lawan, Ola Awoniyi, he said the Senate President’s initial reaction was to ignore the “ignoble mischief” especially since it is not new, having been posted two years ago but for the fact that it is now trending on the social media space.
“The Office of the President of the Senate has noted a tweet by one Cmr Mayor attributing a fabricated statement to the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan.
“In the mischievous tweet, the Senate President was quoted as saying he ‘won’t mind a constitutional amendment to allow unlimited term of office for President if President Buhari wishes to remain in office beyond 2023.
“Our initial reaction was to ignore the ignoble mischief especially since it is not new, having been posted two years ago on 27 March 2019.
“But because the tweet has been trending again on social media, it becomes necessary to issue a formal rebuttal of its purport.
“We, therefore, say categorically that the Senate President has never made any such statement, before or after 2019,” he said.
I stand by the Nigerian Constitution on term limit for President – Lawan
The Office of the President of the Senate has noted a tweet by one Cmr Mayor attributing a fabricated statement to the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan. pic.twitter.com/IrwYO7VKsW
— President of the Senate (@SPNigeria) March 30, 2021
He noted that the old tweet which was entirely the handiwork of mischief makers was being circulated again on social media by purveyors of fake news.
Lawan pointed out that the 1999 Constitution has a firm position on the tenure of the President that reflects the popular stand of Nigerians.
“Section 137(1)b states as follow: A person shall not be qualified for election to the office of President if (b) he has been elected to such office at any two previous elections.
“The Senate President has never found anything wrong in that provision of the Constitution and has always stood firmly by it,” he said.
The statement recalled that Lawan was a member of the National Assembly when in 2006 it threw out an attempt to amend that section of the Constitution and elongate the tenure of the then President, adding that the National Assembly acted then in obedience to the overwhelmingly popular desire of Nigerians.
“It is therefore ludicrous to imagine that Lawan would ever be in the vanguard of any such misadventure that is again certain to fail if ever pursued again.
“The Senate President stands by the well-considered and roundly appreciated the provision of the Constitution on the issue and will never subscribe to any move to amend it.
“We, therefore, enjoin members of the public to ignore the old fabricated statement mischievously attributed to the Senate President and now being circulated by mischief makers,” Awoniyi added.
Zainab Sa’id
