INEC Tasks NASS On Integrity, Competence

The National Commissioner of the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC), Mr Lai Olurode, has called on the National
Assembly to place more emphasis on a candidates’ integrity, competence and
popularity for any leadership position in the country.

Olurode told The Tide’s source in Lagos that it was time the
country moved out of ethnic, religious sentiments and made decisions to settle
for the best.

The national commissioner was reacting to the plan by the
National Assembly to review one of the key sections of the constitution which
dealt with rotation of political positions in the country.

“I think the legislators should emphasise more on
competence, capability and popularity of a candidate, which is not to say that
if we decide to zone the presidency to a particular region, we will not be able
to get somebody that is capable there.

“The most popular candidate, the candidate that is most and
generally acceptable, that exhibits a lot of sensitivity than diversity should
be the one to be put in a leadership position,’’ he said.

According to him, during the time of late Abiola and his
running mate, in spite of the fact that both of them were Muslims they were
generally accepted and selected on that basis by the entire country.

He said it was important to have a leader that would be confident
to do justice to all manner of people without discrimination and most
importantly have the fear of God.

“You can have a leader that is your brother, who will do
justice to you. Are you going to say because he is one of you and you are going
to keep him there for ever? No,’’ he said.

He, however, advised that it was time the country respected
its tradition more.

“If we respect the tradition of the land, the office of the
president should be protected. No matter where the president comes from, no
matter the colour of his skin, he has to respect the law and have the fear of
God in him,’’ he said.

The national commissioner said that the welfare of the
people should be the determinant factor of every leader while the persons
competence, capability, general acceptable by the people, not his ethnicity or
his religion should be the deciding factor.