Ahead of the February 25 Presidential and National Assembly polls, the Young Progressives Party (YPP) Senatorial candidate for Akwa Ibom North-West (Ikot Ekpene) Senatorial District, Emmanuel Ekon, has warned that unless drastic measures are taken to address the cash-for-votes crisis, democracy would remain a mirage in Nigeria.
Speaking in an interview in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital, the former House of Representatives member for Abak Federal Constituency, said the “wholesale penetration of money in the leadership recruitment process, has robbed the electorates of effective representation and constituency development.”
He blamed the gullible nature of the electorates, party leaders and stakeholders, for always trading the fate of their constituencies and constituents for cash, a situation he said forced most politicians “to view their positions within the prism of personal achievement, with no obligation paid to the people they represent.”
Lauding the new currency policy, the former lawmaker pointed out that it would go a long way towards entrenching some measures of financial discipline, lamenting that monetary inducement of the electorates before and during the polls would only end up throwing mediocres and desperate leaders whose mindsets would be “to recoup their investments.”
He said: “Politicians here would go to the extent of borrowing, selling their properties and getting cash for the elections. Bulk of these monies would go for consultations of elders and stakeholder from the wards to every other level including the youth’s in order to secure supports. So when they win, the first thing is to recoup and recover their investments. Don’t forget that major political parties including the APC had fixed the price of nomination forms far higher than the reach of average young persons in the country can afford.
“In the United States that I have spent several years, things are not done this way. Out there and other developed economies, people contribute to their preferred and choice candidates. Such contributions are only used for logistics and other programmes to ease the campaigns and not for vote buying, consultations and other ceremonies to woo the electorates.
Hoping to return to the National Assembly (Red Chamber), Ekon, who fronted the agitation for the passage of the Local Contents Law, leading to more indigenous players in the oil and gas sector, said he would pursue more Nigerian contents in the industry in other to create more jobs, skills and wealth for the youths.
Charging the people of Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District to shun the allure of money as the crucial elections beckon, Ekon, pointed out that “only an experienced person would be able to weather the storm of politics at that level as a ranking member, to get the due dividends of democracy to the people.
‘”Don’t allow anyone to deceive you, it’s always not easy to break ranks and get what you want as a greenhorn. I was in the Green Chamber for four years, learning the ropes until my second term when I became Chairman of the Local Content Committee, and I know what I achieved for the people of Abak Federal Constituency that I represented in terms of human capital development, jobs and skills acquisition, scholarships, women empowerment and physical infrastructure including electricity, establishment of skill acquisition centre and other programmes.
“So, I can authoritatively say without mincing words that I remain the best National Assembly representative with the best track-record of constituency development since the return of democracy in 1999, as far as Abak Federal Constituency is concerned, and I have that burning desire to surpass that record if given the chance next month.” He assured.
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