The controversy generated by Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu’s suggestion that the National Assembly should consider a two-year tenure extension for president and governors as his panacea to the constant over-heating of the polity, has refused to die down with former Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu joining the fray.
Tinubu, who is one of the national leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC), dismissed the proposal, which he described as non-issue because it was already dead on arrival.
Tinubu made his views known yesterday at the public presentation of a book on the Emir of Borgu Kingdom, Alhaji Haliru Dantoro, in Abuja.
He said though the idea of bringing back the controversial single tenure elongation had not been officially raised, it remained an exercise in futility as it would never materialise.
His words: “I heard from rumour another move for an elongation of tenure but I dare say forget it, it is dead on arrival. If the National Assembly is pursuing a constitutional amendment, then why do you need another proposal for amendment? ”
He also faulted the federal government’s claim on the quantity of crude oil being stolen in the Niger Delta by oil thieves.
Tinubu opined that the 400,000 barrels figure that were regularly being quoted by government officials as stolen has become suspicious as no thief can maintain the record of scooping exactly the same quantity of oil on each attempt.
“This is a lie. No thief can take the same number of barrel of oil on each attempt. The figure being dished out is too constant to be true; that figure is only in the book and it is about promoting corruption”, he added.
Tinubu further argued that it was more worrisome that about the same volume of oil previously set aside for domestic consumption, is what is being reportedly stolen, adding that this poses a lot of credibility question on the veracity of the crude oil theft problem.
He, therefore, challenged the National Assembly to critically look at the current reports of oil theft in the Niger Delta as the figure being churned out is too constant to be true.