- Professor Pat Utomi has expressed concerns that Nigerian politics is in danger of being infiltrated by criminals
- Utomi said this in Abuja at the High Level Public-Private Sector Forum
- He lamented that government is so dominating and suffocating in Nigeria
Political economist and management expert, Professor Patrick Utomi, on Monday, October 15, expressed concern that Nigerian politics if left unchecked would be in danger of being infiltrated by criminals.
Professor Utomi made the comment in Abuja at the High Level Public-Private Sector Forum, with the theme: “Democracy that Delivers.”
NAIJ.com gathered that the event was hosted by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the International Republican Institute (IRI), the National Democratic Institute (NDI), the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) and Solidarity Center.
READ ALSO: 2019: PDP names Saraki DG Campaign Council
Professor Utomi said: “The government is so dominating and suffocating in Nigeria and in my view it’s part of the reason why Nigeria hasn’t made progress.
“In Nigeria, there is an obsession with the government; the people believe that the government will fix things, that the government can do things, not knowing how important it is that we consider together political enterprise and human progress.
“One of the most frustrating things about Nigeria today is that most of those in public offices don’t have the capacity for where they are. There is no talent profile to determine who should be where.
“Most of them don’t have the foggiest clue what it takes to provide the environment to make the country prosperous.”
He advised on the need to have checks and balances system and a Joint Consultative Committee (JCC), which will publish the state of our democracy report annually, adding that the JCC should prescribe a talent profile that the political parties will use for their recruitment and socialization for people who seek public offices.
He noted that if we are going to make progress in Nigeria, we will have to create an enabling environment in which the private sector, public sector, and CSOs can collaborate to make a number of things happen.
PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigeria’s #1 news app
Meanwhile, election observer group, YIAGA Africa Watching The Vote (WTV) has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to make public its report on the monitoring of political parties’ primaries held recently in preparations for the 2019 general elections.
The group made the demand on Thursday, October 11, in Abuja, during a press briefing on the conduct of political party primaries for the 2019 general elections.
Speaking at the briefing, Ezenwa Nwagwu, co-chair, WTV working group, and Cynthia Mbamalu, project director, YIAGA Africa WTV, raised issues around exclusion of youth and women, high cost of nomination forms, vote buying and selling, access and transparency. open flouting of party guidelines, INEC guidelines as well as the Electoral Act.
Nigeria Latest News: Not Too Young to Run Pay a Visit to APC and PDP | Naij.com TV
Subscribe to watch new videos
Source: Naija.ng