‘APC, PDP have led Nigeria astray for 21 years’ – Jega speaks on 2023 elections

A former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, on Saturday, said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have led Nigeria astray for the past 21 years.

Speaking during a lecture organised by Kwara Visioners Network for Rural Development in Kwara State, the ex-INEC boss lamented that  the two dominant parties are becoming incapable of directing the country in the right way.

“The current two dominant parties – APC and the PDP – with their quality recruitment and leadership selection processes who have shared power and have tended to lead Nigeria astray in the past 21 years are becoming incapable of directing Nigerian political and governance processes in the right direction,” he said.

“The dominant elites in these parties are self-centered, preventing the few good ones among them to be impactful. They are also fractious and quarrelsome and lacking even enlightened self-interest”, the professor of Political Science added.

He noted that there is a need to create a special vehicle that can go into alliance and work together to free the country from the stranglehold of parochial and reckless politicians.

Jega , who is a registered member of the People’s Redemption Party (PRP), however  dismissed speculations in some quarters that he was joining the 2023 presidential race, stressing that his mission was to contribute to positive change in politics.

The ex-INEC chairman emphasized that he hasn’t told anyone he is interested in running for the position.