Utomi, who spoke to journalists in Abuja, urged Nigerian voters to use their influence to reject candidates who refuse to participate in the debate, which is a chance, in his words, for people to evaluate the plans and abilities of candidates before of the elections.
He stated:
“The fortunes of South Korea were turned around because the electoral commission was so despondent about the quality of their politics that they decided that the thing that should matter the most for elections are debates between candidates.
“So it became entrenched in the conventions of South Korean politics. Before anybody goes to an election, they would have had a series of debates on the streets, in town halls, on television to define South Korean elections.
“Once debates came to define elections, moneybags and all kinds of criminals and charlatans ran away and their electoral process became one of a sustained, enormously developed country.
“So any politician that refuses to make this fundamental contribution to the democratic process should be considered unfit, unable and unwilling to participate in the democratic process.”
Utomi stated that on election day, the electorate should disqualify the candidate if the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) lacks the guts to do so.
