2023: Politicians with corruption cases must not be allowed to run

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim has stated that politicians with corruption cases must not be allowed to contest in the 2023 general election.

Olawepo-Hashim while delivering a paper at a public lecture titled, ‘Uthman Dan Fodio: A Legacy of Anti-Corruption’, at the Arewa House, Kaduna, on Wednesday said the first step towards fighting corruption in Nigeria is to stop corrupt persons from contesting in the 2023 election.

He said politicians “with prima-facie cases of corruption established against them must be shamed and prevented from being nominated to stand for elections in the various political parties”.

The APC chieftain, who was presidential candidate of the Peoples Trust Party (PTP) in the 2019 general election, said if corrupt politicians cannot be stopped from getting party nominations, Nigerians should vote against them at the polls.

He also called for the decentralisation of government to reduce corruption induced through over-centralisation of power.

He advocated for a “constitutional amendment to ensure that elected public officers at the federal and state levels publicly declare their assets upon election to public office”.

According to him, mere filling of the asset declaration form at the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) should no longer be enough.

He also called for the launch of campaigns for a new “ethical reform”, aimed at promoting simple lifestyles rather than ostentatious living.

This, according to him, will ensure that public officers maintain “simplicity in the type and number of cars they use, houses they live in, and ceremonies they stage”.