- Accuses both parties of misruling Nigerians In 22 years
BY SEGUN ADEBAYO – Former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, says it is unfortunate that Nigeria’s two main political parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have mismanaged and misruled the country in the last 22 years.
He said having disappointed Nigerians and led them astray over the past two decades with mediocre performances, both parties have demonstrated they are incapable of driving the country towards the urgently needed new direction and progress.
Speaking at a lecture organised by a Non-Governmental Organisation, Kwara Visioners Network for Rural Development (KVNRD) in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, Prof Jega accused both parties of inept leadership and acute mismanagement profiles.
According to him; “The current two dominant parties, APC and the PDP, with their quality recruitment and leadership selection processes; who have shared power and have tended to lead Nigeria astray in the past 21 years; are becoming incapable of directing Nigerian political and governance processes in the right direction.”
He said at the lecture with the theme: ‘Politics, Governance and Leadership Recruitment in 21st Century Democracy,’ that; “The dominant elites in these parties are self-centered, preventing the few good ones among them to be impactful.
“They are also fractious and quarrelsome and lacking even enlightened self-interest.”
The former INEC boss said going by recent developments within the polity, “There is a need to create a special vehicle that can go into alliance; and work together to free the country from the stranglehold of parochial and reckless politicians.”
Laughing off speculations about his so-called interest in the 2023 presidential race, Prof Jega said his concern focuses more on contributing and aiding the process of engineering positive changes in Nigerian politics and politicians’ attitude.
The one time Vice-Chancellor of Bayero University Kano (BUK) further said though a registered member of the People’s Redemption Party (PRP), the issue of 2023 presidency is not on his plate at this moment.
On the controversy surrounding proposed electronic transmission of results in general elections, the University don criticised the National Assembly (NASS) for downplaying its importance, noting that the electoral umpire, INEC has already experimented on it during some elections in parts of the country.
“It is a pilot scheme which all the stakeholders have been observing and said is good.
“The next thing is to remove the major hindrance in the use of technology; because there is a constitutional provision which says that electronic voting is prohibited,” the former INEC Chairman explained.
Expressing worries over the lawmakers’ seeming disinterest in amending and strengthening the laws to enhance electronic voting and transmission of results, he said; “Many Nigerians, who are in support of electronic voting, are blaming INEC; for saying it cannot use electronic voting.
“They have forgotten that there is a legal provision that says electronic voting is prohibited.”
