Enyinnaya Abaribe, former deputy governor of Abia State, has acknowledged that the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) naira policy which caused a cash crunch across the county, was instrumental to his victory in the just concluded 2023 general elections.
The former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain said this at a two-day seminar organised by Media Educational Development Initiative for Africa with the theme, “Peace Journalism and Consolidation of Democracy in Nigeria,” for a select few journalists in Abuja on Monday.
According to the former Senate minority leader, the use of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) technology by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) also curbed irregularities that would have denied him victory.
Senator Abaribe asserted that impunity thrives in Nigeria because the people that perpetuate it are allowed to go free like what is happening in the handling of the elections.
The lawmaker added that his opponents could not manufacture results due to the measures already put in place ahead of the presidential and national assembly election.
He, however, thanked God that he was able to survive the Obi-Datti tsunami (Labour Party) in the southeast that has retired some politicians, adding that his victory was a result of people’s goodwill.
He said, “I benefited from BVAS. The technology was right, the only issue is that we have to eliminate human interference.”
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Commenting on peace journalism in the country, he said that the conference for media and peace initiatives should be held more for politicians, not journalists.
“On peace journalism, I still think maybe those of us that are politicians are people that need this seminar more than journalists. You don’t tell journalists not to do their job,” he said.
Recall that Abaribe contested and won the election under the platform of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) after the PDP had denied him the ticket for Abia South Senatorial District.
Maintaining that the country needs to improve its recruitment process, he explained that if those contesting elections have some modicum of integrity, it will reduce negative reports which are usually sponsored by political opponents.
He noted with dismay that in Nigerian politics, people don’t normally vote for the best candidate rather they go for other considerations that make competence and the ability to deliver take the back seat.
“God saved me otherwise I would have fallen victim to the Obi-Datti wave. It is also good for Nigeria that people can win elections based on BVAS,” he said.
He said that the presidential election in terms of voting was good but after the voting, there was a problem in that the electoral body did not immediately transmit the results at the polling units from the BVAS to the results viewing portal.
Referring to the unfolding drama in the Adamawa State governorship election, Abaribe said, “The biggest problem we have as a country Nigeria is the fact that bad behaviour is not punished.
“Impunity thrives because you don’t pay for it. We are always on our best behaviour when we travel out but act with impunity when we return.”
