The senior advocate argued that while Nigeria had conducted elections regularly since the return to civilian rule, the credibility of those elections remained deeply in question.
Senior Advocate of Nigeria and human rights lawyer Femi Falana has declared that Nigeria's democracy remains hollow as long as elections are determined by money rather than the will of the people, warning that the country faces a defining moment ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Falana made the remarks on Saturday while delivering a paper titled 2027: Building A Nation Where No Man Is Oppressed at an event held in honour of the late Chief Alao Aka-Bashorun, one of Nigeria's foremost defenders of constitutionalism and civil liberties.
“A democracy in which citizens doubt the effectiveness of their votes cannot fully achieve democratic legitimacy. Having conceded that members of the ruling class have exclusive right to govern the society, we talk of ‘one man, one vote,’” Falana said.
“The slogan is completely meaningless in a country where the votes are purchased by money bags.”
