The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has identified weak institutions as the primary cause of corruption in Nigeria.
Speaking at a dialogue organized by The Kukah Centre, Ganduje stressed the need to strengthen the nation’s democratic institutions to effectively combat corruption.
“For corruption to be brought down to its lowest ebb, the nation’s democratic institutions must be strengthened to resist actions that pave the way for the emergence of corruption,” Ganduje stated. He urged citizens to stop solely blaming politicians for embezzling public funds, emphasizing that the systemic issues requiring candidates to provide large sums of money before assuming office are also to blame.
Ganduje expressed his gratitude to The Kukah Centre for facilitating the dialogue, which aimed at enhancing the knowledge base of political parties. He expressed optimism that such discussions would help fortify the country’s democratic institutions.
“The major problem we have is that of weak institutions. We are caught in a vicious cycle of weak institutions, and unless we break that cycle and strengthen our institutions, we are just leaving politicians to do anything,” Ganduje said.
The former governor of Kano State also pointed out that political parties operate with weak political instruments, which allow corruption to flourish in political offices. He noted that voters also play a role in perpetuating corruption by engaging in vote-buying practices.
“Some voters carry their voter cards and insist that unless they are paid, they won’t cast their votes. That is vote buying. Yes, politicians embezzle public funds, but did you ask them how much they spent to get to that office? Did you ask them how much they spent to come in and how much they spent for the sustainability of that office?” Ganduje questioned.
He further argued that focusing solely on punishing politicians without addressing the systemic issues is inadequate. “If, for instance, a minister is charged and jailed for corruption, leaving the accounting officer who released the money and the persons that issued the memo free is an injustice to the accused.”
