Tunji Abayomi, a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), said Nigerians cannot live in integrity in electing the president because the challenges facing the country require sinners to fix.
Mr. Abayomi, who is the Pro-Chancellor Adekunle Ajasin University in Ondo State, said poverty is the main challenge facing the country, therefore, citizens should consider those who can create wealth and not start looking for saints.
He said this during an interview on Sunrise Daily on Channels TV on Tuesday.
According to him, “Only sinners will lift society from sin because they know the effects of sin and its consequences,” said Mr. Abayomi, a lawyer.
Several presidential candidates in the race have been marred by allegations of corruption.
The ruling APC candidate, Bola Tinubu, forfeited $460,000 to the United States government in a drug-trafficking case in 1992.
On the other hand, the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, is facing allegations of using a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to siphon money when he was vice president from 1999 to 2007.
PREMIUM TIMES also in the investigation revealed how Peter Obi of the Labor Party used a shell company in a tax haven country to hide his wealth and failed to declare it to the Code of Conduct Bureau, an act that many believe in the 1999 constitution.
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Mr. Abayomi, a lawyer, said it is almost impossible to get a saint who can overcome the challenges of poverty facing the country.
He emphasized that what Nigeria needs is “a man of ancient wisdom, not necessarily a saint.”
He said, “We are not in heaven, let’s respect it. We are in this world, and it will be presumptuous because of the tendency of utopian aspirations, but in the end it will only gain a little if we study the history of rebellion in this world.
“But only sinners will raise society because the problem of society is sin and know the value of sin and its consequences. Only sinners will raise society from sin because they know the effects of sin and its consequences, the structure of sin, and how to manage people, if you look saint, you will not get much. Look at the history of the world, that’s just a fact.
“The issue of integrity is important. A constitution, about corruption and so on. Obviously, we will deal with it. To expect the personal sanctity of the candidates, people who have gone through the structure of life in this nation – a nation anywhere in the world – for example, you find that politicians are sinners.For example, you can’t run an office without money.
“Money is the root of all evil (sic). Some say its absence is the foundation of all problems. In essence, there will be some balance. There will be sinners, not murderers,” he said.
The ruling party rode to power by fighting corruption and changing ways. President Muhammadu Buhari is marketed to Nigeria as a retired anti-corruption army general.
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