The former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Attahiru Jega has urged Nigerians not to vote for those he described as “Political thieves” and unqualified in the 2023 general elections.
He made the call at the 2022 pre-Ramadan lecture held at the University of Lagos Muslim Alumni (UMA) on Friday.
The former INEC chief said genuinely qualified candidates who are ready to serve should be voted for presidency and other political positions.
He said Nigeria was in dire need of new orientation in terms on the choice of leaders, stressing that political positions should not be occupied by looters of public treasury.
Jega blamed the current problems in the country on bad and incompetent leadership.
In his words, “We must develop an overwhelming consensus that political leadership cannot remain the only job for which no qualification appears necessary except to have a lot of money which is, usually, stolen money.
“It is for this reason that we must find a way to bring relevant criteria to bear on the selection of leadership in our dear country. We have got to find a way of making character, competence, and capacity to determine who leads us.”
