Senator Esuene Says Six Years Single Term Best for Nigeria

By Bassey Inyang in Calabar
 

Former Minister of Environment, Senator Helen Esuene, has again advocated a six-year single term for any occupier of the office of Nigeria’s President and the position of state governor.

Esuene who represented Eket Senatorial District, 2011 to 2015, said six years was enough for anyone elected to be president or governor to successfully implement his or her campaign promises. 

Esuene who stated this while responding to questions from journalists in Calabar, said, “I was one of the proponent of a single term in office. If you have six years to stay, you use that period of time to do all what you planned to do…. 

The second term brings in many negative things in governance, influences everything whether good or bad so far as that person will cover every bad thing committed, so often time those people are not the best but because they pledged loyalty”.

Looking back to the period when her husband was governor of South-eastern State, that was later renamed Cross River State, Esuene who was the first” First Lady” of the Cross River State from May 27,1967 to February 3rd, 1976, also said there should be a line between governance and politics after elections, so people can get good governance.

“You know this is political regime and you have to beef up support for your husband, but in the military regime there was no need for all that. What we did was purely humanitarian bringing up the children, let the government be humane.

“But today’s politics may be we’re taking it a bit too far and we need to draw a line to where politics ends and where governance starts, because sometimes it is politics all the way, and governance is only trying to find it ways. So I think after election, a line between politics and governance should be drawn. At times you will hear as governor say, I will not do this for this people because they did not vote for me. I think that to me is petty, ”Esuene said. 

Earlier, Esuene who was a special guest at an event to mark the 50th Anniversary of the creation of Cross River State, staged by  a private organisation “Profiles and Biographies”charged the people of the state to take advantage of its

numerous economic and tourism potentials and drive the state forward.

Addressing the gathering at the event which held at the Transcorp Metropolitan Hotel on Thursday, she said, “The next 50 years will see the state blossom in the area of

tourism, agriculture and international trade. Your vast fertile land, the forest ecosystem, historical and natural sites, your rich culture

and the warm and hospitable nature of the people are excellent assets

that can drive the economy in future…. 

“Governance is continuous; I would say that 50

years after, they have done well. They used to have problems of water

supply now there is water everywhere in Calabar, they have expanded

education, the road networks also have been expanded, tourism is growing in the state and several other things, so they have done well.

“Cross River State has a very large land mass so they should exploit

that to their advantage, expand agriculture in the state, should

improve on tourism”.

 

Chairman of the occasion Chief Wilfred Inah who was the Principal

Secretary to Brigadier Udoakaha Esuene when the state was created in

1967, charge the government of today on the need to always consult and

implement useful advice as it was in their days when Esuene came into office at the age of 31 but gathered egg heads who were older than him

to draw a blue print for the state that was implemented word for word.

Inah  decried the attitude of persons in government who do not listen,

consult and take advice from the populace before embarking on policies and programmes. 

 

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