Why Political Office Holders Must Resign Before Election – Olawepo-Hashim

A Chieftain of the ruling All Progressive Congress, Mr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim has maintained that all appointed public officials habouring political ambitions in the 2023 political circuit must resign from their present positions before joining the train.

Delivering a paper on Wednesday titled: Uthman Dan Fodio: A legacy of Anti-Corruption at the Arewa House Public Lecture in Kaduna, Olawepo-Hashim explained that the first step towards stopping corruption in Nigeria is to ensure the forces of corruption do not hijack the elections in the build-up to 2023 elections.

The former Presidential Candidate added that politicians with prima-facie cases of corruption established against them must be shamed and prevented by the electorate from being nominated in the various party elections and if they cannot be stopped in the primaries, then massively outvoted in the General  Election.

According to Olawepo-Hashim, “every Nigerian must join in the call that appointed public officers aligned with private interests who have political ambitious must now resign their appointments to prevent the complete privatisation of the state by the novou riche.”

He also called for the decentralisation of government processes to reduce corruption induced through over-centralisation of power and advocated a “constitutional amendment to ensure that elected public officers at the Federal and State publicly declare their assets upon election to office. Mere declaration at the Code of Conduct Bureau asset declaration forms will no longer suffice.”

He equally canvassed for a new policy of encouraging electronic registration of all assets such as land and house titles at state levels, while also campaigning for a new “ethical reform campaign should be launched, aimed at promoting simple lifestyle rather than ostentatious living as well as ensuring that public officers maintain simplicity in the type and numbers of cars they use, houses they live in, and ceremonies they stage.”

Olawepo-Hashim had earlier expressed his gratitude to the Arewa House for giving him “the opportunity to speak on the important topic of the legacy of the scholar, philosopher and extra-ordinary reformer, Sheikh Uthman Danfodio.

He said the topic was important against the background of the effect of corruption on “Nigeria’s social political and economic fabric.”

In his words, “nothing of recent underscores the depth of the corruption quagmire in our country as the sordid details of the alleged drug deals of the soon to be extradited top police corp DCP Abba Kyari

“This particular case is interesting because it reveals how audacious the corrupt have become in the Nigerian system. Since Kyari was already indicted on cybercrime, one would have expected him to have kept a low profile as men of the underworld do in other climes when the radar is on them.

“But in Nigeria, the criminals now believe that there is no government and that they can literally get away with just anything.”

The occasion which attracted a lot of egg heads from the public and private sectors saw the Director of Arewa House, Dr. Shehu Aliyu delivering the welcome address on behalf of the Vice-Chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Professor Kabiru Bala.

Other dignitaries included Alhaji Usman Ibrahim, the Falaki Zazzau, who chaired the occasion; and Professor S. Muhammed, who led the discussion on the paper.

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