Former presidential aspirant, EZENDIGBO decries huge budgetary allocations for elections

Sunday, July 14, 2024 - Ex-presidential hopeful, Onwusoanya Ezendigbo, has condemned the huge budgetary allocations for the conduct of general elections in the country by the federal government.

Ezendigbo regretted that despite the huge resources accrued to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for the conduct of elections, the process often turns out flawed.

He decried the wanton killings and political violence being orchestrated by anti-democratic forces in their quest to clinch power, urging Nigerians to change their mindsets and stick to the rules as practised in other democratic countries in the world.

Ezendigbo who contested the concluded 2023 presidential election held in Nigeria under Independent candidacy, made his feelings known in an interview with DAILY POST on Sunday.

According to him, “The billions marked out for the conduct of elections in Nigeria is wasteful. And at the end of the day, INEC will go out and announce results that do not reflect the wishes of Nigerian voters.

“Why should we spend huge resources on holding flawed elections? Why should we kill ourselves during elections? And over eighty percent of these end in court. We must begin to emulate other democratically-advanced countries and do something different.

“It is disgraceful that our economy has broken down. Citizens are now confronted by insecurity, hunger, food inflation, and naria devaluation. And our educational system and other critical sectors of the nation’s economy are in shambles. We need to have a change in our mindset and ways of doing things”, the Igbo chieftain stated.

Ezendigbo described as a disappointment, the fact that the judiciary arm of government in the country, which serves as the last hope of the common man, has allegedly failed to deepen the current democratic process in Nigeria.

“Nigerians have lost confidence and trust in the judiciary. The judiciary needs to be reasonable and considerate. Most of these Nigerians travel and see how things are being done in other advanced countries.

“Why should every election end in litigation? The whole system is broken down. We have the best brains and if anything negatively happens to Nigeria, it affects the entire African continent. We must come together and make our country work, “former presidential hopeful advised.