The All Progressives Grand Alliance has reiterated its belief that politics should not be treated as a full-time occupation, arguing that individuals who maintain careers outside government are more likely to uphold accountability in governance.
APGA National Chairman, Sly Ezeokenwa, made the remarks during a media interaction in Lagos on Thursday, where he outlined the party’s guiding philosophy and leadership style.
According to Ezeokenwa, the party encourages its members and officials to remain professionally active outside politics as a strategy to discourage corruption and reduce the monetisation of political processes.
He explained that APGA’s ideological framework, promoted by its national leader, supports productive engagement among members and discourages overreliance on political offices for livelihood.
“In APGA, we try to develop a model of politics that recognises that politics is not a business.
“People should build careers, and if you are a party officer, you should maintain meaningful professional engagement.
“If you are not productively engaged, that is what leads to vices such as trading nomination platforms for money.
“Even as national chairman, I still go to court because election petitions are part of my professional practice,” Ezeokenwa said.
Speaking on controversies surrounding the Electoral Act, Ezeokenwa noted that laws are collectively enacted by lawmakers and should not be attributed to a single political party.
He said criticisms directed at one party often overlook the broader legislative process in a democratic system.
“If the National Assembly enacts a law, you don’t need to say ‘I opposed it’ or ‘I supported it.’
“Like we always say in democracy, the minority will have their say, but the majority will have their way.
“It is not an act of APC members of the National Assembly; it is an act of the National Assembly.
“Once the president assents to it, it becomes a law binding on all citizens,” Ezeokenwa said.
Ezeokenwa also addressed debates surrounding the electronic transmission of results during the 2023 presidential election, insisting that many critics lacked adequate knowledge of the electoral process.
“Most of the people who talked about transmission of results know little or nothing about the electoral process,” he said.
He explained that the Independent National Electoral Commission introduced electronic transmission to improve transparency and strengthen voter confidence in the electoral system.
“The presiding officer scans the result sheet and uploads it to the INEC Result Viewing Portal.
“The essence is simply for Nigerians anywhere to log onto the portal and view results in real time,” he said.
The APGA chairman maintained that election outcomes are determined by official polling unit results and the evidence presented before election tribunals.
According to him, allegations of electoral irregularities must be backed by alternative result sheets provided by party agents.
“If you want to determine whether an election was rigged, the primary document is the certified true copy of the result.
“Till date, nobody has produced an alternative result sheet; the only thing I hear is that INEC breached its guideline.
“If they breached their guideline, have you brought an alternative result to show the declared results are different?” he queried.
Ezeokenwa further criticised what he described as widespread confusion between the electronic transmission of results and the collation process.
“People confuse transmission of results to the portal with collation; they are different things.
“Electronic transmission simply means scanning the result and sending it to the viewing portal.
“The law recognises that results are physically delivered by the presiding officer to the collation officer,” he said.
He added that the ongoing debate underscores the need for improved public understanding of Nigeria’s electoral process ahead of future elections, including the 2027 presidential poll.
