Nigerians have been advised to stop electing dullards as governors, and instead prioritise competence, capacity and character over party loyalty, money politics and ethnic sentiments.
The Ogun State governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Biodun Collins Ogundipe, gave the advice during a media chat in Abeokuta, on Monday.
Ogundipe asserted that poor leadership at the state level is responsible for the country’s developmental challenges, arguing that many states are underdeveloped because voters repeatedly elect individuals who lack vision, knowledge and the capacity to govern.
He called on Nigerians, especially youths to scrutinise candidates ahead of the 2027 elections and vote for leaders with track records and clear development blueprints.
He said, “Forget about all this guys who will come and campaign to you and say don’t worry, when you get on that day you grab it, run away, steal it. Those days are gone.
“If people are still following such campaigns slogans and they are not telling you how they want to change your life positively, the life of your children and your generations to come then, you should have no business in this 21st century voting for such a person or people that cannot show you track records of what they have done either in the private sector or even in their own business.
“They will say I run a business, sir, come and show us how you have turned over that business so we can know that we are entrusting you with the allocation and resources of this state. People don’t have track records that we can even verify.
He asserted that governance is about people and the government of the state does not care about people in the grassroots.
Ogundipe also argued that contemporary security management goes beyond the deployment of armed personnel and weapons, insisting that effective policing in the 21st century is driven by intelligence gathering, prediction, prevention and rapid intervention.
“Ask them of their template for the state, there must be a blueprint. Security is not about carrying guns to chase criminals after the crime has been committed, no, securing lives is not about buying amoured tanks, you see all these governors, dullards, dullards is what you elect as governors.
“They spend billions buying amoured tanks and patrol vehicles when it can be solved through Artificial intelligence driven solutions,” he added.