•Says Supreme Court judgement on disputed oil communities final

Former Inspector General of Police, Sir (Dr.) Mike Okiro, has decried money politics, popularly known as vote buying, or stomach infrastructure as politicians get prepared for 2023 general elections in the country.

Okiro who is also a former Chairman of Police Service Commission (PSC) condemned in strong terms monitisation of politics saying that it is a dangerous trend that has the potential to negatively affect the nation’s democracy.

Sir Okiro spoke to News Express in an interview on Tuesday, in Abuja, saying that Nigerian electorate should shun primordial sentiments in electing the next president and other political leaders in 2023.

He also refuted reports in the media claiming that he was pushed into politics and swindled of all his savings. The retired IGP said the report misrepresented his position on money politics.

He stated categorically that he was against money politics. He advised voters across the country against mortgaging their conscience during elections. He noted that Nigerians feel that electioneering periods are seasons they must collect money from politicians seeking elective positions, adding it was a bad habit. “Unless the trend is stopped, we have more faults than the politicians”, he said.

He admonished Nigerians to say “enough is enough” in 2023 by rejecting politicians’ money during the voting process.

Said Okiro: “Nigerians will talk about the leadership deficiency, but I say no, that is not enough! It takes two angles! If leaders have deficiency, we have followers’ complacency! Because if leaders are behaving, we just laugh, wave at them, and say walk and go! And they will do the same thing again”.

He continues: “But if we say no! Enough is enough, they change! You go, they give you money for votes so that you can vote for somebody whether the person can perform or not! They give you N5,000 or even less, and you look for four years. That means the N5,000 is your due for four years.

“I am talking about this thing because once in a time, the politicians have faults but we have more faults than the politicians.”

He also spoke on the Supreme Court judgment which finally ceded the disputed oil communities in Imo state to Rivers state. He said the judgment is final. Okiro, citing a statement made by the late legal luminary, Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, who said: “We are final not because we are infallible. Rather, we are infallible because we are final”, appealed to the youths in the area to eschew violence, while he urged the federal government and oil producing companies to fast track developmental projects in the area.

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