The National Assembly and presidential elections held on February 25, 2023, according to House Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, were primarily about ethnicity and religion rather than the caliber of the candidates.
Gbajabiamila expressed regret that variables other than the performance of lawmakers were used to determine the elections, which were the first in a series of polls leading up to the general elections in 2023.
On Tuesday night, the Speaker made this statement when addressing the House of Representatives Press Corps.
Gbajabiamila said, “It was a hard-won battle not just for me but for many of our colleagues on the floor (of the House) there…all 360 of us. Many were unlucky. Some were lucky. I used the word ‘lucky’ deliberately because this election was not as it should be; not so much about the performance of members whether on the floor or in their constituencies.
“It was about a lot of other things. It was about religion. It was about ethnicity. It was about so many other things which I hope that as we develop as a nation, one’s election would be based solely, or at least mostly, on his or her performance on the floor and in the constituency. That is why I fought tooth and nail to make sure the Electoral Act adopted strictly the direct mode for primaries because of elections.”
He added, “Even though at the general elections members lost, a lot of members actually lost their elections at the primaries where their acceptance by the constituents was not put to test. What was put to test was what one or two leaders in their constituencies determined, whether they were returning or not. So, we lost a lot of legislators even at the primaries level, and that does not help our democracy.”
The Electoral Act 2022, which is the updated version of the Electoral Act 2010 and is being used for the 2023 general elections, may be subject to further revision by the National Assembly, the Speaker suggested.