A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ebonyi, Dr Paul Okorie, has urged stakeholders to be more decent and respect the rules guiding Nigeria’s political and electoral processes.
Okorie, a former commissioner for Works, Transport and Environment, gave the advice in an interview on Friday in Abakaliki.
He was reacting to recent visa ban by the U.S. government on some politicians alleged to be involved in electoral fraud and violence or acts perceived to have hampered the smooth conduct of the 2019 general elections in Nigeria.
Okorie , who contested for the 2019 governorship ticket of the APC in Ebonyi, hailed the U.S Government’s decision on such persons, saying it would deter desperate politicians who indulged in subversive strategies to win elections.
He said that visa denials to fraudulent leaders or politicians from developing and third world countries were part of measures deployed by developed nations to help countries deepen their democratic processes.
He noted that Nigeria would not continue to remain a developing country, urging political actors to imbibe democratic norms and decency in the quest for power.
“There is need for us as a people to consciously work, to improve the democratic system and structures put in place, to nurture our democracy.
“We cannot continue to remain a developing country because there is always a time to call it quits to bad practice; and I think the time has come for us in Nigeria to start finding a way to be decent in our pursuit of power.
“The time has come to end this desperation for acquisition of power without minding to kill all the people to become the governor, president or senator; what is important to them is that the end justifies the means.
“The earlier we started removing the toga of desperation, the better for us, because it is bringing the image of the country to ridicule before the comity of nations,” Okorie said.
He faulted Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over his comments that the ban was a vindication of his position that 2019 presidential election was compromised.
Okorie said it was wrong of the PDP and its presidential candidate to point accusing fingers at the APC, Buhari, or to claim that the visa ban was meant for politicians of the APC extraction.
Mr Morgan Ortagus, Spokesman for the U.S. State Department, recently announced the ban on politicians whose acts of violence, intimidation or corruption harmed Nigerians or undermined the democratic process.
Ortagus said: “We condemn those whose acts of violence, intimidation, or corruption harmed Nigerians, or undermined the democratic process.
“The Secretary of State is imposing visa restrictions on Nigerians believed to be responsible for, or complicit in undermining democracy in Nigeria.
“These individuals have operated with impunity at the expense of the Nigerian people, and undermine democratic principles and human right.”
