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Nigeria politics is not for the poor — Former Minister Ogunlewe

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Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, a former minister and member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has asserted that the country’s political system is not designed for the poor.

Ogunlewe made the claim while speaking on Arise Tv’s Morning Show on Wednesday.

He was discussing the political climate surrounding the contest for the 10th National Assembly’s leadership.

Ogunlewre said, “As I said how many years ago, Nigeria politics is not for the poor. No matter how much you describe it, it’s for the rich. If you don’t have enough funds, just don’t come into politics; you will never get through. And that is the truth. So a poor man can’t say, I am a senator or a poor person can’t say, I want to be the President of the Senate.

“How does it work out? You must be able to stand very solid (financially) to be able to play politics in Nigeria; very very solid.

Read Also: Nigerian politics is informal investment, players must repay benefactors —Ogunlewe

“There’s nobody who is going to be a Senator today who will be a poor person. They are not poor.”

In recent years, politics and elections have been seriously monetized. The political class appears to hold the belief that votes are commodities that can be bought off from the electorates.
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Once paid for, the electorates are robbed of the power to demand accountability. Money politics is driven by the high level of poverty in the country. The high level of poverty is the consequence of bad governance of policy.

Despite the negative consequences of selling votes, it has been growing on an alarming rate.

Poverty makes the electorates susceptible and thus exposes them to political manipulation that manifest in vote buying.

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