Former Member of Parliament for Tamale Central, Inusah Fuseini, has opposed proposals to extend the presidential term from four to five years, arguing that the problem lies not with the duration of the term but with inefficiencies in governance.
His comments follow recommendations by the Constitution Review Committee, which has proposed extending the tenure of the president from the constitutionally mandated four years to five.
The committee argued that the four-year term is often insufficient for governments to achieve meaningful progress, noting that the first year is usually spent forming a government while the final year is dominated by re-election campaigns.
However, speaking on Joy News on Saturday, December 27, 2025, Mr Fuseini rejected the justification, insisting that improved efficiency, rather than a longer term, was the solution.
“The Constitution Review Committee makes the argument that it takes about a year to form a government. In the last year of the four years, they are in for campaigning, especially if you are due for a re-election. So, effectively, you have two years, and so they felt that two years is not just enough for any development agenda,” he said.
“That is a good explanation, but why don’t we inject efficiency into the way we govern?” he asked.
Mr Fuseini also dismissed claims that a five-year presidential term should be adopted simply because it is considered a global norm.
“There is the argument that the five-year period is a global norm, but why do we have to go with that?” he said, adding that a four-year term provided a stronger basis for accountability.
“I think that four years is enough to hold our elected representatives accountable,” he stated.
He pointed to the performance of the current president as evidence that effective governance could be achieved within a four-year term.
“The President has demonstrated it clearly in his term of presidency. He has shown that you can set up your government in less than three months and get the government running,” Mr Fuseini said.
According to him, early successes recorded by the administration also challenge long-held assumptions about the limitations of a four-year tenure.
“He has also shown that you can achieve significant success in your first year. So that goes to dispel what President Kufuor said in 2009 about extending the tenure from four years to five,” he added.
