Nigerian foremost lawyer Afe Babalola has stated that the person who will emerge as the winner in the 2023 presidential election is the one who has made money in the country.
The legal luminary made the remark at a press briefing in Ado Ekiti, expressing concerns over the general elections being conducted under the 1999 constitution against his advice.
According to Babalola, the election will only reproduce the same individuals who have brought the country to its present state.
“It is not who can make a difference that will win this election.
“I repeat, it is not the person who has all it takes; age, health, education, and patriotism, that will win the election; the winner of this election I can bet it, is going to be the person who has made money in this country.
“It is the person who has the money that will win”, he stated.
Speaking on Olusegun Obasanjo’s endorsement of Peter Obi, Babalola said that it does not factor in the role money will play in the election.
“A man who wants to rule the whole country or any part of the country, ought to be screened.
“Has he ever worked before, what type of work did he do, did he steal there, was he a good manager, does he pay his taxes regularly, what contributions has he made to society?
“You cannot just come from nowhere and become president, become governor, become a member of the house; these are transactional businessmen.
“I still stand by my suggestion that any election conducted under the present 1999 Constitution cannot and will not produce new leaders with new ideas, rather any election conducted with the 1999 Constitution will merely result in recycling people who have brought Nigeria to grinding poverty, unemployment, under-funded education, and insecurity”, he noted.