A former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, on Friday in Jos, Plateau State, urged Nigerians to stop complaining about the present hardship in the country but instead vote out incompetent leaders during the 2019 elections.
Abubakar spoke at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPSS Kuru, during the 2018 Distinguished Annual Lecture for Senior Executive Course 40 participants, with the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, as Special Guest of Honour.
Abubakar condemned the practice of vote-buying by politicians, insisting that it must be discouraged by all means.
“Every citizen has a duty. You must not sell your vote. You must register to vote. Stop criticising the failures of government, go and vote them out if you think those voted are not doing their job.
“We must all try to work on our nationhood through constitutional and policy framework. It is only in this way that we can ignite responsible leadership for the country.
“It is through this approach that we can truly build national institutions that will enthrone justice and equity.”
Speaking further, Abubakar described the 91 parties registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission as an “unwholesome development.”
He said that INEC was not helping the country’s democracy by registering too many political parties as most of them were still regional in character and lack ideological inclinations.
He also called on the organisation to be transparent in its activities if it wished to engender confidence among Nigerians.
