With PDP’s accusative criticism of President Buhari’s endorsement of APC’s governorship candidate in Edo, and the presidency’s response to the accusation, it is clear now that the position of the law that ‘a person remains innocent till proven guilty’ is certainly not enough to entrust public office into the hands of people facing criminal charges. Surely, there are also moral and ethical aspects attached to holding offices of public trust that are no less important in the eyes of society which need to be taken into account.
To give both credible leadership and credible opposition, it is incumbent on all political parties, and all public practitioners, to put in all elective offices credible people or the parties, and the system, will continue to suffer moral deficiency syndrome before the general public. Any party that fields in persons of questionable integrity, either in its executive organs or for elective public office, will not only have such persons as a source of discredit to itself and to the society, as the current response of the presidency to an otherwise germane criticism from the PDP has proven, but it will also lose all moral and ethical high ground before the public.
I therefore wholeheartedly support the position of the presidency on this matter. Let the PDP, and the APC as well, withdraw the nominations given to all persons standing trials on criminal charges of corruption, embezzlement of public funds, money laundering, breach of public trust, and other such criminal misdemeanours. Or, alternatively, let those with such charges patriotically resign their public offices or waive their constitutional immunities, where applicable, and get their cases determined conclusively by the law courts. Nothing less would restore public trust to our political parties, to our public practitioners and to our fledgling democracy and governments. Nothing less would help Nigeria 🇳🇬 move forward.
Ambassador Niyi Omoyele