Subject political office seekers to mental checks

By Editor

Stakeholders in the Nigerian project have called on the National Assembly to initiate the process of amending the 1999 Constitution to ensure that candidates for elective offices are subjected to mental health checks to determine their sanity.

The stakeholders made the call in a communiqué issued at the end of a one-day technical dialogue on the "National Integrated Global Competitiveness Strategy for Social and Economic Development” organized by Fundacion Exito Ltd./Gte and Foundation Exito Canada (FEC), with the theme: Nigeria in 2031 - What Does Nigeria Need Now? 

The FEC is a Canadian not-for-profit working with Nigerians in Diaspora through community building and policy engineering.

The communiqué was jointly signed by the Chairman, Board of Directors, Fundacion Exito, Chinenye Nwangwu, Founder/Director, Fundacion Exito, Dominic Obozuwa, Member, Board of Directors/Head, Legal at Fundacion Exito, Mrs. Ogechi C. Abu as well as Member, Board of Directors - Fundacion Exito, Mr. John Ochogwu.

The Communiqué reads in part; "There needs to be a constitutional amendment to ensure candidates for political offices at all levels undergo verifiable Medical and Mental Health Tests/Checks because the health of the leaders is a critical element of optimum performance and competence to lead in any capacity. 

"The Independent National Electoral Commission INEC must guarantee the integrity of the 2023 general elections.  

"Government at all levels must be clearly seen to be opposed to and regulatory of ethno religious dichotomies and sentiments to ensure national development regardless of politics and/or religion in addition to ensuring that religion promotes national growth and values.

"Leadership Performance and the lack thereof have been perpetrated by people indigenous to the different regions, not from outside. So also those who have destroyed the component parts. This is the time to vote someone not based on ethnicity or origin but on a clear vision, credibility, character, competence, and capacity to turn this around."

 

The stakeholders also urged the Federal Government of Nigeria to quickly stem the ongoing national crisis as a result of the Naira redesign policy to ensure it doesn't snowball into a major crisis that could adversely impact the general election. 

 

They however called on all candidates and their supporters in the forth-coming general election to eschew violence, promote peace and be issue-based in their campaigns.