The convener of Northern Elders’ Forum, NUF, Professor Ango Abdullahi, has blamed the level of corruption being experienced in the country on the presidential system of government.
Abdullahi, a former Vice Chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University, pointed out that the presidential system was not only corruption-ridden but full of impunity.
Speaking to newsmen in Zaria as part of activities to mark his 80th birthday, the elder statesman advocated for a return to parliamentary system of government, stressing that the system was more accountable than the presidential system.
He explained that contrary to insinuations that the North was averse to restructuring, the region actually stands to benefit more from a restructured Nigeria.
Abdullahi warned against denying Nigerians a free, fair and credible election, saying that anything short of that would be an invitation to crisis and be dangerous for the country in 2019.
His words, “To deny the possibility of fair and credible elections in 2019 will be dangerous for the country.
“I believe in restructuring of this country. I have always argued that our first big mistake was to throw away the parliamentary system of government in favour of the presidential system.
“The presidential system we know is not for poor countries. It is a sophisticated capitalist-based political system that gives special privileges and advantages to the strong against the weak.
“I argued that parliamentary system is most accountable. In a parliamentary system, you cannot be a minister without being elected from a base. So, you are already accountable.
“Apart from this, the presidential system is corruption-ridden and we have seen it. There is corruption and impunity in the system.
“If we are going to restructure this country, which I believe we should, our first priority is to move away from this presidential system to parliamentary as a more accountable and less-corrupt system.”
Abdullahi noted that lack of proper funding of Nigerian universities is among the problems militating against university education in Nigeria.
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