MINISTER of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has aimed a subtle dig at the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, saying “we have seen this kind of hype before”.
Fashola also called on politicians vying for office in the 2023 general elections as well as citizens of the country not to “disrobe” the challenges of Nigeria in the global market square.
Fashola who was the keynote speaker at The Niche Annual Lecture in Lagos yesterday noted that the number of new 12 million voters registered will not be enough to sway the outcome of the elections next year.
He said the number of newly registered voters in 2022 is way less than the number of voters who registered newly in 2019.
This is as the former member of the House of Representatives, Dakuku Peterside, lamented the current economic downturn in the country, saying over 90 million Nigerians now live below poverty line.
According to Fashola, over 14 million newly registered voters had been recorded prior to the 2019 elections compared to the 12 million documented from this year.
“If you look at the number of people who have newly registered to vote in this election, the last number given by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is 12,332,336 people. Those are the new voters registered for this election cycle. Whereas in 2019, there were 14,360,053 newly registered voters. While in 2015 there were 6,944,752 newly registered voters.
“So, if the hype about 2023 is anything to go by, the number of 12.332 million newly registered voters does not support it. This is because there are 2,027,657 voters less than the 14 million new voters who registered in 2019.
“We have seen all this hype before and it distracts from the real question which should be: how can democracy, especially the elections coming in 2023 make our lives better and make our country greater. Those, for me, are what we should focus on, not about whether there will be or there will not be an election. We should focus on these questions because democracy is simply concerned about popular participation in choosing a leader or set of leaders.”
He also cautioned against washing the dirty linens of the country in the global scene saying “we can win elections without exaggerating our problems. We can do so by offering credible service and well thought out solutions.”
Fashola averred that the current situation of the country “should challenge a level of sobriety in us not excitement. A serious reflection that says this is where we have reached? My advice is that we can win elections without disrobing our country before the global community. Elections and democracy for us must represent a feast of ideas and choices that bring out the best in us and the best in our country.”
