Former senate president, Ken Nnamani, has said the military could have seized power in Nigeria if tenure elongation attempt by former president Olusegun Obasanjo wasn’t subdued.
The All Progressive Congress, APC chieftain stated this against the backdrop of the tenure elongation plot that was resisted in the Senate on May 16, 2006.
Nnamani, who spoke to reporters on Tuesday in Lagos, disclosed that he narrated the matter in his new book, ‘Standing Strong: Legislative Reforms, Third Term and Other Issues of the 5th Senate’
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He said: “The defining moment was the amendment of the constitution. We deliberated Section 308 which provides immunity for certain office holders”,
“The tenure elongation was seriously debated, it took us six days. We ensured it was broadcasted so that Nigerians would know what we were doing.
“Standing Strong simply means the ability to stand firm in critical times. Tenure elongation was opposed because if there was a third term, there would be fourth, fifth and so on.
“What this implies: there might have been life presidency. If we did not have the courage to do what we did, the military could have taken over.
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“You don’t truncate a democratic system. As you are aware, some countries in Africa are bearing the consequences.
“For instance, Guinea had a strong man, but not strong institutions. Look at the situation today.”
