All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain Farouk Aliyu has admitted that Nigerian politicians have collectively failed the electorate, urging his peers to “get their acts together” in order to restore public confidence in the country’s democratic process.
Speaking during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Monday, Aliyu was responding to analysts’ scepticism over the continued relevance of the so-called “12 million vote bloc” historically attributed to Northern Nigeria — a key factor in past electoral victories, particularly under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Aliyu dismissed claims that the 12 million votes were a myth, instead attributing the diminishing impact of the bloc to widespread voter apathy across the country. He acknowledged that this apathy stems from public disappointment in the political class.
He further stressed that the dwindling voter turnout should not be viewed as evidence of inflated electoral expectations, but rather as a warning sign for Nigeria’s democracy.
“The 12 million votes were there. They were counted at one time in this country,” he said. “But the voter apathy, if you look at the trend of elections in this country, the Nigerians are tired of us politicians, certainly. That’s why a lot of people don’t even come out to vote.”
Aliyu added that it is up to politicians to restore faith in governance.
“We, the collective Nigerian politicians, need to get our acts together to start practicing what we preach, so that Nigerians can have confidence in us all and come back to vote for whichever party they want. The votes, the numbers are not any myth, but reality,” he said.
On the contentious issue of electoral malpractice, Aliyu distanced himself from any wrongdoing but did not deny the existence of rigging in Nigerian politics. “We have not rigged,” he said. “But certainly I cannot say politicians don’t go about rigging. But we haven’t rigged.”
Looking ahead to the 2027 general elections, the APC stalwart called on citizens to give politicians another chance, expressing hope that increased transparency and accountability will drive more Nigerians to participate in the electoral process.
“I hope Nigerians will believe in us, politicians, and will give us another opportunity this time around so that Nigerians can come out and vote whoever they want to be their leader next time,” he concluded.
Melissa Enoch
Follow us on:
