Nasir El-Rufai, a former governor of Kaduna State, expressed alarm on Thursday about what he called selective accountability in Nigeria and cautioned that the idea that members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) are seldom charged with corruption has to be addressed immediately.
El-Rufai reportedly gave a speech on the topic of “Nigeria’s Fourth Republic: What is Working and What is Not?” at the 23rd Daily Trust Dialogue in Abuja.
He claims that Nigeria suffers from governance that lacks accountability, pointing out that changes have prioritized procedures above results.
“Without accountability, we have governance. He claimed that Nigeria has developed accountability and change more quickly than the content.
“We hold elections, establish agencies, and announce asset recoveries, but accountability by simply governing remains selective,” he continued. Corruption is now invisible to those in positions of power, dangerous for those in opposition, and negotiable for those on the fence who wish to switch to the APC. Members of APC are never charged with corruption.
The former governor cautioned that unequal application of the law has serious repercussions for regular Nigerians.
Unpaid salaries, abandoned projects, deteriorating infrastructure, and pervasive cynicism are examples of this; it is not abstract. Deterrence fails when laws are applied inconsistently. Additionally, confidence evaporates when deterrence fails, which is what is occurring in Nigeria, he added.
El-Rufai emphasized that in order to ensure credible elections and an independent electoral commission, institutions must be strengthened, especially through judicial reforms.
Lastly, for our politics to be meaningful, we need to reinstate moral and capable governance. He continued, “Reform is about what needs to stop as well as what needs to change.”
Sunday Dare, Special Advisor to the President on Media and Policy Communication, and Hon. Nnenna Elendu-Ukeje, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the 7th and 8th House of Representatives, were among the other panelists at the event.
Former Senate President Bukola Saraki presided over the conversation, and Rashidi Ladoja served as the Special Guest of Honor.
