Candidates With Corruption Cases Are In The Lead For Nigeria's Senate President Position

Three front-runners in the 10th National Assembly's candidacy for the Senate President have been battling allegations of corruption for seven to sixteen years.

Godswill Akpabio, a former governor of Akwa Ibom State, is running for Senate President despite a history of corruption allegations. Despite this, he was chosen for the position on Monday by his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), which is now in power.

Mr. Kalu was accused with corruption in his case, put on trial for 12 years, and sentenced to prison. After the Supreme Court mandated a new trial in his case, he was released. The second trial has not yet begun.

Although they have not yet been charged, Messrs. Akpabio and Yari are always awaiting the next summons from Nigeria's leading anti-corruption agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), due to grave corruption charges for which they have been arrested.

None of them appear to be taken into consideration when the APC selects a candidate for Senate President. The days when politicians with a history of corruption saw President Muhammadu Buhari, the party's departing leader, as a threat to their ambition because of his anti-corruption stance are long gone.

His party, which came to power in 2015 on a platform promising to combat and deter corruption, ended up serving as a refuge for politicians trying to regain political relevance and seeking relief from the burdens of corruption allegations.