THE presidency may have underestimated the resolve of the opponents of the single tenure presidency as Nigerian Tribune has authoritatively gathered that the opposition has formed a broad based coalition to scuttle the passage of the proposed amendment in the national and most of the state assemblies.
Informed sources close to the opposition told the Nigerian Tribune that the counter plots cut across the geopolitical zones and political parties, with the main goal of defeating the single tenure amendments if the presidency ever presented it before the legislative assemblies.
Unlike the approach adopted by the presidency, the opposition was said to have endorsed a series of secret moves and activities that would render the amendments impossible by the time they were submitted before the lawmakers.
It was learnt that first in the series of activities was the formation of a parliamentary group combining lawmakers opposed to the amendment, irrespective of party affiliation, both at federal and state levels.
The group was said to be taking shape already, with lawmakers from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) as active actors.
A lawmaker from Kano State told the Nigerian Tribune that the opposition parliamentary caucus on the issue was growing on a daily basis, stressing that the speaker’s parliamentary group was the foundation of the enlarged anti-single tenure amendment.
An ACN senator, while confirming the making of the group, noted that the bill was largely dead on arrival, as the opposition within the National Assembly was likely to kill the proposal at the national level before it reached the state assemblies.
Aside from the parliamentary group, the Nigerian Tribune also gathered that the opposition was having coordinated support and backing from leaders of the Northern Leaders Political Forum (NLPF), who had scores to settle with the Jonathan-led administration.
While the group, under Mallam Adamu Ciroma, had been silent for sometime, its machinery was reportedly being put at the disposal of the opposition, leading to a strong Arewa backing for the anti-single tenure group within the National Assembly.
Findings further revealed that in anticipation of deployment of federal machinery to support the passage of the bill, the opposition was equally mobilising what a source called “sufficient resources,” to ensure that sufficient votes were secured to kill the bill.
“As we killed the third term bid under Obasanjo and as we stopped PDP from imposing speaker on the House of Representatives, so shall we stop this strange amendments,” an opposition member told the Nigerian Tribune.
Meanwhile, an opposition senator, Hussein Mudashiru, representing Osun West senatorial district, has affirmed that only true federalism, rather than single tenure presidency, can save Nigeria from under-development and constant crisis in the political process.
“We need to amend the constitution to secure true federalism alongside fiscal federalism. Until we do that, we cannot solve the challenges of under-development and political confrontation,” Senator Mudashiru noted.