The National Chairman of the Allied Peoples Movement, Alhaji Yusuf Dantalle, has blamed vote buying for the steady decline of Nigeria’s democracy, warning that the practice continues to undermine credible elections and good governance.
Dantalle, who is also the Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council, stated this on Monday during an interview on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, Ogun State, where he called for a comprehensive reset of Nigeria’s political, economic and social systems.
The APM chairman urged Nigerians to reject electoral inducement and vote according to their conscience during elections.
“Elect who you want. Reject a peanut or that evil called vote buying,” Dantalle said.
While acknowledging the economic difficulties confronting Nigerians, he argued that the country’s democratic challenges were deeply rooted in the erosion of values and accountability.
According to him, rebuilding the nation requires more than policy adjustments, stressing that the country must address the structural issues responsible for corruption, inequality and social dislocation.
“The APM, my presidential candidate said we will reset Nigeria. We have to look at the entire value system,” he said.
Dantalle also expressed sympathy for President Bola Tinubu, saying the administration inherited difficult challenges and had embarked on reforms intended to reposition the economy.
“I sympathise with the president. He is doing his best to fix Nigeria,” he said.
The APM chairman, however, maintained that the impact of government policies should be measured by the welfare of ordinary citizens.
“Nigerians are suffering in a very terrible way today. Is it reflective of the life of the people? You and I know that it’s not,” he stated.
Speaking on the removal of fuel subsidy, Dantalle described the policy as necessary but lamented that its expected benefits had yet to significantly improve the living conditions of citizens.
“When the president came on board, the first thing he did was to remove our oil subsidies. The idea was to reinvest that money into infrastructure and other salient sectors of our socio-economic life. But unfortunately, that is not happening,” he said.
The IPAC chairman also linked worsening insecurity to economic hardship and social exclusion, arguing that many criminal activities were products of systemic failures.
“Because of this, insecurity is increasing,” he said.
He further advocated an end to winner-takes-all politics and called for more inclusive governance across party lines.
“We must learn to avoid politics of winner takes all and loser lose all,” Dantalle stated.
During the programme, he reiterated his support for Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, whom he described as a practical and people-oriented leader capable of driving national transformation.
“If you juxtapose pre-Seyi Makinde and Seyi Makinde’s tenure, you will know if he is capable of replicating the same thing across board,” he said.
Dantalle concluded that Nigeria’s future depends on restoring citizens’ confidence in the country and rebuilding institutions through what he described as a national reset agenda.
“If Nigerians are made to believe they own Nigeria, nobody would want to destroy what belongs to him,” he added.
