Okwe Obi, Abuja
The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Muhammadu Buhari, has boycotted a debate organised by the Centre for Democracy and Development in Abuja.
The event which centred on corruption and accountability had a representative of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Kazeem Afegbua, candidates of African Action Congress (AAC) and Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party (ANRP), Omoyele Sowore and Tope Fasua, respectively, in attendance.
Other participants included the National Secretary, Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), Paul Isamade and National Publicity Secretary of Young Progressive Party (YPP), Egbeola Martins.
On fight against corruption, Afegbua accused the Federal government of failing to holistically tackle the scourge, regretting that people who defected to the APC were given a clean bill of health.
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He assured Nigerians that if PDP’s standard bearer, Atiku Abubakar, is elected into office, his government will not condone corruption.
“Nigeria is a country of sins without sinners; look at the individuals making commentaries that so, so and so persons are corrupt, they too are enmeshed in endemic corruption.
“The global definition of corruption is monopoly plus discretion minus accountability. It’s the monopolistic power of an individual that makes him abuse his discretionary power,” Afegbua said.
Sowore, who aligned with the Afegbua, breached the rules by calling names of alleged corrupt leaders whom he claimed decamped to the ruling party to escape prosecution, but was interrupted by the moderator.
He proposed that if elected, his government will adopt digitalised techniques to ensure proper asset declaration.
“Declaration of assets should be digitalised. Not only will I digitalise, but I will also apply other technologies to ensure that it is properly done,” he noted.