Afe Babalola, a preeminent legal authority, said that the largest spender, not the strongest candidate, will win Nigeria’s upcoming presidential election on February 25.
This was said by Babalola on Thursday in Ado, Ekiti, at a press conference.
He expressed concern that the general elections in 2023 will be held in accordance with the 1999 constitution against his recommendations and claimed that the election would only perpetuate those who had taken Nigeria to a despicable state.
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He said, “It is not who can make a difference that will win this election, I repeat, it is not the person who has all it takes – age, health, education, and patriotism, that will win the election; the winner of this election I can bet it, is going to be the person who has made money in this country.
“It is the person who has the money that will win,” the legal icon added.
Babalola asserts that former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s recent endorsement of Peter Obi of the Labour Party does not take into account the influence that big donors will have on the election.
The only thing that will prevent Nigeria from disintegrating completely is a new constitution with strict requirements for political candidates.
Babalola added, “A man who wants to rule the whole country or any part of the country, ought to be screened. Has he ever worked before, what type of work did he do, did he steal there, was he a good manager, does he pay his taxes regularly, what contributions has he made to society?
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“You cannot just come from nowhere and become president, become governor, become member of house; these are transactional business men.
“I still stand by my suggestion that any election conducted under the present 1999 Constitution cannot and will not produce new leaders with new ideas, rather any election conducted with the 1999 Constitution will merely result in recycling people who have brought Nigeria to grinding poverty, unemployment, under-funded education, and insecurity,” he said.
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