Nigeria, Jan. 29 -- In every functioning democracy, power comes with a timer. It starts ticking the day an oath is taken, and it stops the day the law says it must. That timer is not symbolic, it is the foundation of electoral legitimacy. Nigeria's constitution understands this clearly. It draws firm lines around how long elected officials may remain in office, and those lines are not suggestions; they are safeguards designed to protect the people's sovereignty.

For governors, the rule is straightforward: four years per term, two terms maximum. At the local government level, tenure is defined by state assembly laws, often three years, and it must align with constitutional principles. The key idea is simple, no one holds elective office i...