APC, PDP not ready to transform Nigeria – Jega

• We’re healing wounds – ruling party

By Saawua Terzungwe, Muideen Olaniyi (Abuja) & Zahraddeen Yakubu Shuaibu (Kano)

A former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, has said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the leading opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have failed to transform Nigeria despite the number of years they spent in government.

Jega, who stated this during an interview with Toyin Falola via Zoom yesterday, said the two dominant parties have failed to alleviate poverty and the sufferings of Nigerians.

The former INEC boss had earlier in August asked Nigerians not to vote the two big parties in 2023, as the country continued to battle with avalanche of challenges.

Jega argued yesterday that Nigerians have suffered serious setback in the hands of the two parties, adding that they are governed by a group of elites who are not ready to transform the nation.

He said for the country to recover from the “long illness of incompetency”, there must be competent leaders who are ready to make positive changes, and that the citizens should also take responsibility for electing good people into positions of power.

Jega who recently joined the People’s Redemption Party (PRP) said his party is committed to rescuing the country.

“There is no doubt that the ruling elites in the country cannot transform the country into a better one. They have been in power for all these years but nothing has changed. The dominant parties, that is PDP and APC, have closed the opportunity of recruiting good and competent people into the system of leadership.

“They only give chances to people in their camp to continue ruling us. And this has prevented many people particularly the youths from joining politics; they always think it is a bad thing.

“So there is a great need to have competent people who recognise the need to change our development trajectory and save the country at large,” Jega said.

Contacted for comments, the APC Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Yekini Nabena, dispelled Jega’s claims, saying the APC is healing the wounds it met on ground and is therefore not a failure.

“Is he (Jega) going to manufacture new politicians into his PRP? They are just political scavengers. The APC has not failed as he claimed and will never fail Nigerians.

“We all know that PDP was a failure and that was why Nigerians changed leadership of the country. So the APC is healing the wounds; it is not a failed party,” he said.

The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, when contacted promised to call back.