By ABT News Investigative Desk
For decades, virtually everyone has asked the same question: If Nigeria has brilliant people, abundant natural resources, and millions of talented young citizens, why does the country continue to struggle with disastrous leadership?
The devastating answer is finally here and it is more damning than anyone could have imagined.
In a powerful, deeply sobering, and highly revealing masterclass on the dark intersection of money, power, and political reality, former PDP presidential aspirant and respected business leader Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa has blown the lid off Nigeria’s fraudulent electoral system.
His chilling testimony reveals a system completely hijacked by money, exposing how the highest office in the land is allegedly auctioned off to the highest bidder—even if that bidder is a criminal.
The ₦1 Billion Humiliation
Ohuabunwa’s account is a tragic indictment of a broken democracy. He shockingly revealed that despite spending a staggering ₦1 billion on his presidential aspiration, he received only one single vote.
He spent months traveling across the country, investing massive amounts of time, resources, and hope, only to be met with a political machine that cares nothing for corporate governance or merit. Just for basic logistics, moving around the country to campaign, Ohuabunwa admitted he spent no less than ₦500 million.
Cash Over Character: A Criminal’s Paradise
According to Ohuabunwa, character, vision, and merit mean absolutely nothing in the race for Nigerian political office.
He bluntly stated that the most important criterion for winning an election in Nigeria is money. The system is so deeply compromised that a candidate’s background is entirely irrelevant as long as their pockets are deep enough.
In a truly terrifying assessment of the political landscape, Ohuabunwa revealed that a candidate could literally be any of the following, and still win if they have sufficient cash:
- A pedophile.
- An armed robber.
- A kidnapper.
- An assassin.
- A drug peddler.
The Astronomical Cost of the Presidency
The barrier to entry for genuine leaders is a wall of cash. When it comes time to face political delegates, it becomes an outright bidding war.
- During the primaries, political delegates brazenly demanded bribes ranging from $10,000 to as high as $18,000 each.
- Some delegates were given $12,000, others $15,000, and some $18,000.
- Using a conservative average of $10,000 per delegate across Nigeria’s 774 local governments, an aspirant is looking at spending an eye-watering $7.7 billion just to secure delegate votes.
When all the illicit costs are tallied, Ohuabunwa estimates that a candidate cannot realistically win the Nigerian presidency without a minimum war chest of ₦100 billion.
If you think that is scandalous, Ohuabunwa predicts a terrifying financial bloodbath for the next election cycle: He estimates that more than ₦1 trillion will be spent to win the 2027 elections.
Buying the State: From the Police to the CBN
The bribery doesn’t stop with greedy delegates. Ohuabunwa alleges that to win, a candidate must systematically purchase the loyalty of the entire state security and financial apparatus. If you have sufficient money, he claims, you must buy:
- The voters themselves.
- The Police and the Army.
- Security agencies and lawyers.
- Agencies like the NDLEA, INEC and NDIC.
- The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
- Law court judges
The claim regarding the CBN is particularly damning. Ohuabunwa explicitly warned that a candidate must “buy” the CBN because if they do not, the apex bank can arbitrarily change the national currency overnight specifically to frustrate and bankrupt a candidate’s campaign.
The “Peter” Conundrum and The Only Way Out
Can a candidate with immense public support overcome this corrupt financial structure? When discussing the possibility of a candidate like “Peter” winning the election, Ohuabunwa acknowledged that Peter has tremendous goodwill and “luck is already on his side”.
However, Ohuabunwa noted a grim reality: Peter must calculate if he is willing to spend the astronomical amounts of money required to build the necessary political “structure,” or if he will decide the financial extortion is simply not worth it.
So, can Nigeria ever produce a truly good leader based on merit rather than stolen wealth?
According to Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, there is only one drastic solution left to reset a system designed to keep good leaders out: A Revolution!
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