Former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has asked ministers and other political appointees to resign from their positions before seeking electoral offices in the 2023 elections.
He stated this while speaking to newsmen on Saturday after a meeting of the National Youth Leader of the PDP with the Zonal and State Youth Leaders at the Party’s National Secretariat in Abuja.
Saraki also knocked President Muhammadu Buhari for asking the National Assembly to remove section 84 (12) of the recently signed Electoral Act which stops government appointees from engaging in party conventions and congresses to elect new leaders or candidates, without resigning.
While insisting that the issue of resignation shouldn’t be up for discussion, the former Senate President described as selfish those that want to remain in power and contest elections.
Saraki said: “I disagree with that. I mean, why should someone in political office use the influence of political office to contest? We talked about the participation of youths. What chance does the young Nigerian have to contest somebody who’s sitting in public office; has access to power by influence; has access to funds of government?
If you want to contest, for heaven’s sake, go out, resign and go and contest? Why would you stay in political office? It’s even wrong for us to be debating it. It is so selfish.
If you truly want to represent this country, why do you have to remain in political office? Step out and contest. And if we are talking about youths, we’re talking about people having an opportunity. What chance does a 25-year-old young man or woman have against somebody who’s a director in a government agency? We should not encourage things like these.”
