4th June, 2010
The United Kingdom branch of the Save Nigeria Group (SNG) has tasked Nigerians to demand that politicians aspiring for public offices should make their education and health status publicly available.
Among other things, the group also asked that such politicians be made to provide their manifestoes both online and in hard copies for the electorate to gauge their ability to represent them.
In a release signed by the group’s spokesman in the UK , Chinedu Vincent Akuta, the group advised political parties to disclose their source of funding including making available corporate bodies who make donations to them.
Citing an example, the group said, “as at 15 October, 2008, before the 4 November American presidential elections, the United States Federal Electoral Commission revealed that McCain Campaign Organisation had spent $262 million while Obama had spent $564 million.
“Political parties should make public academic qualifications of all those seeking to contest under their platform. Party leaders themselves should tender their certificates for the Nigerian public to scrutinise.
“Academic certificates are now a big factor in politics and elections. People have used fake certificates to gain political positions,†the group stated.
It further advised that while political parties should make available evidence of assets and liabilities of every aspirant including the sources of the assets, they should also arrange live debates for Nigerians to evaluate the aspirants.
“Political parties should furnish Nigerians with comprehensive medical examination certificates of all aspirants. There is no guarantee against ill health, but Nigerians deserve to know the medical history of all those seeking political offices,†the group advised.
—Eromosele Ebhomele