Former Tamale Central MP Inusah Fuseini has rejected proposals to extend the presidential and parliamentary tenure from four to five years, arguing that there is no evidence a longer term would make governments more efficient.

Speaking on “The Point of View” programme on Channel One TV, Mr Fuseini said any proposal to amend the Constitution should be justified by improved governance rather than convenience.

"It's [a matter of efficiency]. No one is talking about efficiency. Is it possible to do this in four years and government being efficient? And until someone convinces me that it'll be more efficient if we have five years, I won't go that way," he asserted.

He said he does not support a five-year term for parliamentarians.

Mr Fuseini noted that the idea of extending the presidential term had been raised previously by former President John Agyekum Kufuor.

According to him, Mr Kufuor argued in his final State of the Nation Address (SoNA) that the first year of a government's four-year mandate is often spent settling into office while the final year is dominated by electioneering, leaving only about two years for effective governance. 

On that basis, a five-year presidential term could allow governments more time to deliver on their mandates, critics have argued.

But the former lawmaker Inusah Fuseini firmly disagrees.

He also criticised the government's position on the election of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), saying the issue has been wrongly framed.

"I think that it is a misframing of the issue. It's not executive accountability that Ghanaians are looking for. They are looking for accountability at the lower level. That people elected to be their DCEs must be directly accountable to the people, and not someone else," he said.

His comments come amid discussions on proposed constitutional amendments including possible changes to the tenure of elected officials and the mode of selecting MMDCEs.