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By Myke Agunwa
The Presidential candidate of the defunct Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN) in the 2019 election, Dr. Thomas-Wilson Ikubese has argued that with wrong and visionless politicians occupying positions of office, the country will not record any development.
Ikubese further lamented that rather than face development and build a strong economy, politicians are obsessed with the next election and urged President Bola Tinubu to concentrate more on governance instead of the 2027 re-election project, which is still two years away.
Speaking at a media chat on Monday, he emphasized the importance of governance over political maneuvering. He also stated that governance should be the priority, not politicking, and used Abia State Governor, Alex Otti as an example of performance driven by vision, not by party affiliation.
“Otti is performing because he has a clear vision and believes in accountability, transparency, and leadership. His success isn’t Party-dependent, ” he said.
According to him, politicians are more focused on clinging to power and recycling themselves and neglecting true governance.
“We’re putting the wrong people in power and expecting results they’re not wired to deliver. It’s like expecting a man to get pregnant—it’s biologically impossible.”
When asked about the recent wave of defections ahead of the 2027 general elections, Ikubese said, “The rate of defections we’re seeing—and will continue to see—is clearly driven by the approaching 2027 elections. Politicians want to retain their positions and secure re-election, which means they need more votes. At the presidential level, for instance, the more states your party controls, the easier it is to win re-election. That’s essentially what we are witnessing.”
Ikubese questioned the ideological differences between the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) saying, “What’s the real difference in ideology between these two parties? If I ask you now, what’s the ideological difference between APC and PDP? Can you point to any? There’s no clear distinction.”
He, however dismissed the idea of Nigeria being turned into a one-party state.
“How many parties are active in Rwanda or Burkina Faso? What matters is not the number of political parties but the quality of governance, true leadership, transparency, and accountability.”
He said that the cost of running political offices in the country makes it absolutely impossible for politicians with the right intentions and good morals to come into the system.
“How can you ask someone to pay N100 million to declare interest in running for president? That’s an investment they’ll surely want to recover in office.”
He is of the view that political offices should be made unattractive to weed out thieves, adding that making the presidential seat unattractive was a key component of his 2019 presidential manifesto.