Makinde backs six-year single term for political office holders

By Adejayan Gbenga

Oyo State Governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde, has expressed support for a single term of five or six years for elected political office holders across all levels of government in Nigeria.

Governor Makinde made this known when Muslim faithful, including clerics, traditional rulers, and political office holders, visited him at his Ikolaba residence in Ibadan shortly after the Eid-el-Kabir prayers held at the Eid Ground, Agodi, on Friday.

The delegation, led by the Deputy Governor, Barr. Bayo Lawal, included the Otun Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja; former Deputy Governor and PDP Deputy National Chairman, Amb. Taofeek Arapaja; and former Deputy Governors Hazeem Gbolarumi and Hamid Gbadamosi.

Other notable figures in the delegation were Hon. Abass Adigun Agboworin, who represents the Ibadan North-East/South-East Federal Constituency, and the Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland, Edo, and Delta States, Alhaji Dawodu Makanjuola.

While congratulating the Muslim community on witnessing the 2025 Eid-el-Kabir, Governor Makinde thanked them for their prayers and support over the past six years. He urged them to continue praying for the success of his administration.

Speaking on the need for a single-term structure, Makinde said:
“I was reflecting on my journey in government. I have spent six years already and, due to no fault of anyone, we lost the year 2020 to the COVID-19 pandemic. We also spent a considerable amount of time campaigning for a second term. Now, distractions are already surfacing about what I want to do next.

“Effectively, the time we can truly say we’ve focused on governance is about five out of the eight years. That’s why I believe that, without these distractions, a single tenure of five or six years is enough to do the job we try to complete in eight. We shouldn’t be afraid to speak the truth based on the data before us. It has nothing to do with me personally—if they say I should end it, so be it.”

Governor Makinde concluded by urging Nigerians to begin a conversation on the single-term proposal as a constitutional matter.
“We need to start paying attention to this issue. I know it has been raised before at the National Assembly, and frankly, it’s a model that could work for this country,” he said.