By Dansu Peter A political advocacy group, Progressive Group for Democracy , has issued a stern warning to President Bola Tinubu, Lagos Sta...
By Dansu Peter
A political advocacy group, Progressive Group for Democracy, has issued a stern warning to President Bola Tinubu, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, threatening legal action should they fail to halt an alleged plot by some Lagos local government chairmen to secure unconstitutional third terms in office.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, the group accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of enabling what they described as a “desperate power grab” by certain council chairmen, in defiance of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
The group’s National Coordinator, Aladesanmi Salawu, condemned the development as a dangerous repeat of Nigeria’s historical flirtation with tenure elongation, likening it to the controversial third-term bid of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
“This is not a request. It is a demand backed by constitutional authority,” Salawu stated. “President Tinubu must rise above party loyalty and publicly disavow this brazen attempt to subvert democratic principles at the local level. If he fails to do so, he will leave us with no choice but to challenge this in court.”
Salawu referenced the Fourth Alteration to the Constitution signed into law by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2018, which, according to him, explicitly prohibits any form of third term, including cases where an official previously completed the tenure of a deceased predecessor.
“Some chairmen who stepped in following the demise of their predecessors, and subsequently won a term, are now seeking a third bite at the apple. That’s unconstitutional. No legal technicality can mask the intent to cling to power,” he said.
The group further demanded that the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) immediately disqualify any aspirant attempting to run afoul of term limits, warning that failure to do so could undermine the integrity of the July 12 council elections.
Their protest comes amid reports that the APC in Lagos has cleared 418 aspirants for the upcoming local government polls. However, controversies continue to trail the screening process, with allegations of internal party manipulation and imposition surfacing.
The group warned that if Tinubu, Fagbemi, and Sanwo-Olu do not take a public stance against the purported third-term agenda, they will initiate a legal challenge to prevent what they described as “an assault on Nigeria’s democratic order.”
“The Constitution is clear. Any attempt to override it in favour of personal or political interests will be met with full resistance through lawful channels,” Salawu concluded.
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