Mary Onyia
Elder Statesman and a Senior Advocate o Nigeria, Chief Robert Clark has called for an extension of the Buhari’s government, adding that the months leading up to the elections are not sufficient for the government to put an end to insecurity in the land.
Clark made this assertion on Monday, when he appeared on Arise television pointing out that President Buhari can extend his tenure if the security situation in the country poses real challenges that the election may not hold.
He claimed that the constitution of the country allows the government to extend its tenure by six months in the first instance if the conditions were not right for an election, warning, however, that the elections may not hold if nothing was done to arrest the spate of insecurity in the land before elections.
“The constitution provides that the president can stay longer than eight years, if the situation where we are in now continues, and it is impossible to vote in the 2023 elections. The constitution says if the situation persists, the president can stay.”
“Given all insurgencies, kidnappings and Boko Haram, I don’t think in these areas of Nigeria, we can have a good election.
“So, the fact the constitution says the president cannot stay for more than eight years is wrong. Because the same constitution says he can be given six months if these conditions persist.
“Now I don’t see any green light. I don’t see what is happening today can be stopped within six months from today or before February next year when the elections will be held.
“The alternative then is for Mr. President to continue as president allows the security watches to carry up the mopping up and Nigeria will become stable.
“Because I swear to God Almighty without stability in Nigeria, without security< Nigeria is going nowhere,” he conclude.