Former Senator for Lagos East Senatorial District, Adeseye Ogunlewe, has said it would be difficult for a competent person to win an election in Nigeria.
Naija News reports that Senator Ogunlewe said the electoral system in Nigeria is too expensive, reducing the chances of competent people without the financial capacity.
In an interview with Arise News on Monday, the former lawmaker stated that it would cost at least ₦50 billion for a woman to win a Senate seat. He added that such a high financial cost could affect women’s representation in the Senate.
“The system of politics that we are operating does not give room for people who are competent but have no money to survive in this type of election. In an election which is constituency-based, small constituency, it’s cheaper, it’s more dignifying, a woman can fight. But for a woman to fight to be a senator in Nigeria, you are talking about 50 billion naira to start with. So where will a woman get that money? It’s too expensive,” he said.
Senator Ogunlewe explained that such high cost of winning a senate seat was partly responsible for budget padding and other contract inflations done in the Senate.
He stated that most contractors and companies sponsor senators into their seats with a promise to pay back through inflating contracts and budget padding.
“If you are there, I’m a company. Okay. Are you going to talk about my interest in that Senate so that I can get more contracts? Can you put my name in the budget? When you talk about budget party, it is part of an arrangement before they got there. I’m a company, I’m a contractor, and I want you to be in the Senate. So when my project comes to the floor of the Senate, you make sure that money is there. All sources of people participate, but it is not cheap at all,” he stated.
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