The factional chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Kabiru Turaki, has urged Nigerian youths to reject the practice of exchanging their votes for immediate material benefits ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Turaki gave the warning on Monday at the Bala Abdulkadir Muhammed Colloquium organised to mark the 68th birthday of the Governor of Bauchi State.
Speaking directly to youths at the event, the PDP factional chairman said accepting money, spaghetti and other inducements in exchange for votes would undermine their ability to demand accountability from elected leaders.
He maintained that citizens who sell their votes would lose both the moral and legal basis to demand quality leadership and good governance from those they helped elect.
“I want to speak to the Nigerian youths. Power is never given. Power is taken,” Turaki said.
He criticised the repeated description of young Nigerians as “leaders of tomorrow”, questioning when that promised future would actually arrive.
According to him, young Nigerians must move beyond waiting for political power to be handed to them and instead become actively involved in determining who governs them.
Turaki said voters should not expect quality representation after accepting inducements during elections.
“If you are not going to cast your vote until you are given money – you cannot come and say you cannot vote until you are given spaghetti,” he said.
He added that voters who openly indicate that their votes are for sale could not reasonably expect those elected through such a process to provide quality representation.
“At that point, you will have neither the legal right nor moral right to demand quality leadership for your people,” he warned.
The PDP factional chairman further called on youths to participate actively in politics and ensure that capable leaders are elected into public office.
“Let us know that we need to get involved in what happens around us. It is important that we stand up, Nigerians,” he said.
Turaki also raised concerns about the quality of legislation in the country, saying Nigerians should pay greater attention to the calibre of lawmakers they elect.
He disagreed with an earlier position by Datti Baba-Ahmed, a former Labour Party vice-presidential candidate, who argued that the independence of the Nigerian Senate had been weakened by repeated interference from the executive arm of government.
Baba-Ahmed had also raised concerns about the Senate’s lack of variety and vibrancy and questioned whether lawmakers represented the executive or the people who elected them.
He said lawmakers who chose to defend the interests of citizens could face risks to their political careers, while expressing his desire for a Senate with more members willing to protect citizens’ rights and assert the independence of the legislature.
However, Turaki said the focus should not merely be on legislation but on the quality and impact of the laws being passed by the National Assembly.
“I disagree with my brother Datti Baba Ahmed when he said that the focus should be where we should be going because he feels very strongly that there is no difference between yesterday and today,” he said.
Turaki argued that understanding the differences between past and present legislative practices was important to the country’s progress.
He said the central question should be whether laws passed by lawmakers addressed the fundamental challenges confronting Nigerians.
“The attention is on quality legislation, because every day, laws are being churned out at the legislature.
“But the question is: are these legislations fundamental to our needs in this country? Will the legislation add value to the lives of Nigerians?”
He specifically questioned whether legislation was effectively addressing issues such as hunger, unemployment, poverty and insecurity.
Turaki also criticised policies that he said could place additional burdens on Nigerians, arguing that elected members of the National Assembly should focus on measures capable of improving citizens’ lives.
“Maybe when it is the matter of taxes alone, and you find the executives operating with unimaginable speed, and add burden to already suffocating Nigerians. Certainly, that is not what we employed the senators and other members of the National Assembly to do,” he said.
