2023: None Of The Candidates For Presidency Has Qualification — Chief Robert Clarke, SAN

*Calls For Amendment Of The Nigerian Constitution To Accommodate Independent Candidacy

Chief Robert Clarke, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria(SAN), has said that none of the persons seeking to contest for presidency in 2023 has the criteria to rule Nigeria.

The octogenarian, who will clock 84 in July, said this during an interview with Sunday Sun, where he called for amendment of the constitution to allow independent candidacy

He said, “To be honest, if 2023 is going to present a leader among the present crop of leaders, to me it’s not going to give good news because I have looked at all the political parties, I have looked at all those who are seeking the presidential ticket as far as I, Robert Clark is concerned not one single of them has the background and criteria to rule this country because they are from the same stalk and they are going to go on with this 1999 constitution. An election that is being required of a candidate to deposit 25 million, 50 million to get this thing shows you there’s no good end in it. The whole system has been bastardized.

“I will pray that Nigeria’s constitution be reviewed, jettisoned so that independent candidates can come forward. Where the party controls the politics then individuals shouldn’t like party politics never go to the government. The Nigeria constitution 1999 does not permit independent candidates. The Electoral Act does not allow that too. To be a candidate, you must be sponsored by a political party; we should erase that from our laws and allow decent, honest people to come forward without party affiliation to contest for election. As far as I’m concerned, I hope and I do sincerely hope that 2023 is going to be a reality which I don’t think.”

The learned silk is also reacted to the ongoing strike of the Association of University Staff Union of University, ASUU. According to him, the demand of the union is not such that government can meet. He called on them to allow students to go back to school.

“The ASSU strike has been going on now for almost 13 or 14 years. I remember during the Babangida regime, I had a niece who was studying law in university of Lagos. I had to remove her and sent her to England because of strike. I’m not saying that lecturers should not go on strike, but they should look at what is happening in the country.

At this moment, the demands they are asking from government can government meet it? Even the government cannot meet his own liability. How much to come and be paying lecturer’s money they had negotiated with a previous government, 13 years ago, they want this government to pay, where is the money? Is it by continuing to strike? They should sit down, reflect . The children are suffering.

“A generation of Nigerian students are getting rotten at home just because some few lecturers say they want something. I don’t understand. My own view is that the government should ask them to go back to work, once their present salary is being met; their present needs are being met, what about other workers who have no fringe benefits.

Who have no other benefits, so I believe the fault is with the lecturers and with ASSU people. My advice is that they should allow these young children to go back to school; they are creating a bad image of Nigeria. They know government cannot afford what they are asking for. To pay salaries government is borrowing money , to meet up its own expenses government is borrowing money, so my views is that the strike should be called off and allow the children to carry on with their career.” Chief Clarke said