Mr. Fela Durotoye, a presidential aspirant on the platform of a new political party, the Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN) has called on Nigerians to put an end to ‘Selectocracy’ as a means of choosing leaders in the 2019 general election.
Mr. Durotoye, while speaking with newsmen in Lagos, said this is the time for Nigerians to build a country they are yearning by voting for outstanding candidates in a free, fair and transparent election.
He said, “To build the Nigeria of our dreams would require exceptional candidates who would emerge from a pool of excellent and credible aspirants chosen by the people to represent them at the general elections.
“This would require a free, fair and transparent internal democratic process which even the prominent members of the established parties claim to be missing within their political party structure as they cross carpet from party to party seeking more favorable outcomes from the same flawed system that I have called selectocracy”.
He said ‘selectocracy’ is the root-cause of the ills being suffered by Nigerians ranging from the erratic power supply after spending billions of investments, to pot-hole ridden roads that have become death traps, hospitals without healthcare and schools without education.
Durotoye added that it is because of selectocracy that there are teachers who cannot pass the examinations they set for the children in Nigerian schools.
He continued, “Selectocracy is responsible for the lawmakers who throw chairs at each other and wield maces but insist on being called honorable. Selectocracy is the reason why one of the largest crude oil producing nations is also one of the largest importers of refined petroleum products. Selectocracy is the reason why millions of naira disappear into the bellies of snakes and monkeys. Therefore, it is clear to me that whatever political structure would deliver the promise of a new Nigeria must have a contrary internal democratic culture to those that the existing political structure values.”