The government has accepted a recommendation to extend the tenure of the president and parliament from four years to five years as part of proposed constitutional reforms.

Presenting the government's White Paper on the Constitutional Review Committee's recommendations, the Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, said the proposal is intended to provide governments with more time to implement and evaluate their policies.

"The government has accepted a recommendation to extend the term of office of the president from four years to five years, with the term of Parliament extended to correspond with this," he said.

According to Dr Ayine, the current four-year electoral cycle leaves governments with limited time to deliver on their programmes.

"Our thinking is practical. Under the current four-year cycle, the early months of every administration are consumed by transition matters, and the final year is largely consumed by elections," he explained.

"A five-year term provides a more realistic time frame for the formulation, implementation and assessment of government policy."

Dr Ayine also announced that the government had accepted in principle a recommendation to lower the minimum age for eligibility to contest the presidency, although with a modification.

"Still under the presidency, the committee recommended that the minimum age of eligibility for election as president be reduced from 40 years, currently in the Constitution, to 30 years. The government has accepted this recommendation in principle, subject to one modification," he said.

"The minimum age will be 35 years, not 30 years. And of course, the details of this will be fashioned out by the Constitutional Review." a