The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) along with national commissioners of INEC and the Minister of the FCT on Tuesday, held an expanded stakeholders’ meeting ahead of the FCT area council elections on Saturday.

Others in attendance were CSOs, security agencies, traditional rulers and representatives of political parties.

The meeting which is the last in the lineup of consultative meetings with stakeholders before the council elections is aimed at assessing preparations for the exercise.

The FCT area council election is the only council poll conducted by INEC and the commission has held series of meetings in the past month ahead of preparations.

473 candidates from 14 political parties are contesting in the polls, with 363 of the contestants vying for 62 councillorship positions in the six area councils.

Meanwhile, according to the INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, there will be no voting in 593 polling units on Saturday

A former Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN Governor, and 14th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has said that whoever succeeds President Muhammadu Buhari will face multiple of problems that the nation passed through in 2015.

Sanusi, former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, noted that the country was in a “deep hole” at the end of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration in 2015, but added that the country would have been in a “deeper hole” by 2023.

Sanusi said this while speaking in Abeokuta, capital of Ogun State, on Monday, when he paid a courtesy visit to Chief Tayo Sowunmi, Babanla Adinni of Egbaland and Baba Adinni of Ijemo, Abeokuta, as part of events scheduled for Sowunmi’s 80th birthday celebration.

He wondered if those jostling to succeed Buhari knew the enormity of the challenges battling the country and the wherewithal to tackle them.

Sanusi therefore, solicited for prayers from all Nigerians and also canvassed for the need for citizens to vote politicians who have the capacity, competence and can be trusted.

Sanusi, who is the Grand Khalifah of the Tijjaniyyah Movement in Africa, said, “I think we should also remind ourselves as Muslims and as citizens that we owe it to ourselves to elect those who can have our trust.

“If you choose somebody who is imperfect to lead you, if you choose somebody who is weak to lead you, if choose someone who is incompetent to lead you, you can only blame yourselves because Allah says you should only give that trust to those who can be trusted. “

“Now, if we give our votes to those who are not competent because of money, personal interest, then it is our problem. In 2015, we were in a deep hole, in 2023, we will be in an even much deeper hole than in 2015. All those people who are struggling to be president, I hope they understand that the problems they are going to face are multiples of the problems we faced in 2015. It should be of concern to all of us. If we don’t do the right things, we are all going to pay for it,” Sanusi noted.

When asked if he would be reconsidering joining politics and running for any political office in the country ahead of the 2023 general elections, Sanusi maintained that he had no interest in politics, rather, he would continue to put political office holders on their toes by speaking truth to their conscience.

He said, “The solution is not for all of us to jump into politics. This country needs truthful politicians, it needs Imams and Bishops who are going to stand up and remind them (political office holders) of the fear of God; it needs technocrats who are going to critique their policies; it needs traditional rulers who are going to speak as the conscience of the people. Everyone has a role to play and we should try to play that role to the best of our ability.

“This is not to say I am retiring from service; I am constantly in service and leadership is about service. That leadership is doing whatever that is in my power to do; speaking to conscience of those in power and asking them to correct their deeds. How they respond to that is their business.

“I will tell those who are in authority that they shouldn’t forget that the office they are occupying is an office that other people have occupied before. And they will leave that office and other people will sit in that office. The only thing they have is the opportunity that Allah has given them and the power that Allah has given them to get close to him by serving the people.”

He noted, “People don’t understand the roles we play as religious leaders, as traditional rulers, they think you should go and be a governor or a president. To be honest, to be leader of Tijjaniyyah in Nigeria; it’s an office that personally, if given the choice between that office and the presidency, I will choose that office. However, as a Muslim, I always end up by saying that I can only speak of what I want, I see and think but at the end, we all have to submit to Allah.

“The most important thing is that we should continue to pray that whoever emerge as president, governors, senators, members of the house, chairmen and leaders at all levels, are trusted.”

After Sanusi was received by the Egba Muslim Council, led by the Chief Imam of Egbaland, Fadhilat Sheikh Imam Sa’adallah Bamgbola, top members of the prestigious Abeokuta Sports Club, among other eminent sons and daughters of Egbaland, Sowunmi appreciated his visit to his residence and urged the former CBN Governor to reconsider running for presidency in the country.

Vanguard