Buhari under pressure to change constitution, run for third term -Presidency

By Doris Israel Ijeoma

President Muhammadu Buhari has come under pressure from political influencers to go against the constitutional powers and run for a third term in office.

Presidential spokesman Garba Shehu who revealed this on Monday on Channels TV said Buhari rejected the plot in favour of existing constitutional stipulations on term limits.

Shehu however did not reveal those behind the move, or whether or not the president has enough votes in parliament to push through such a controversial plot.

“In fact, from 2019, we have seen persuaders come before our very eyes and tell us that leaders should not go; that term limits are a nuisance and should be eliminated,”

” Buhari is eager to leave office in 2023.

“But he wants to make the point that ‘I am not here to stay a day beyond my term of office and be sure there’ll be an election’,” Mr Shehu added.

Recently, Mr Buhari told embattled British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 26th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kigali, Rwanda, that he won’t be seeking a third term.

“Another term for me? No! The first person who tried it didn’t end very well,” the president was quoted by spokesman Femi Adesina as explaining to Mr Johnson in the evening.