Religion, ethnicity influenced presidential, NASS elections results –Gbajabiamila

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, said the presidential and National Assembly elections held on 25 February 2023 were driven more by ethnicity and religion than by the quality of the candidates. Speaking to members of the House Press Corps on Tuesday evening, he expressed regret that the first round of the 2023 general elections was determined by factors other than lawmakers’ performance.

The Independent National Electoral Commission declared the All Progressives Congress candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the winner of the presidential race, defeating PDP’s Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party’s Peter Obi, NNPP’s Rabiu Kwankwaso, and fourteen other contestants. Notably, the Labour Party candidate beat Tinubu in Lagos State, the constituency represented by Gbajabiamila.

Gbajabiamila reflected on the broader implications: “It was a hard‑won battle not just for me but for many of our colleagues on the floor— all 360 of us. Many were unlucky; some were lucky. I used the word ‘lucky’ deliberately because this election was not as it should be, not so much about the performance of members either on the floor or in their constituencies. It was about religion, ethnicity, and many other things. I hope that as we develop as a nation, elections will be based solely, or at least mostly, on a representative’s performance in the House and in their constituency.” He added that he had fought to ensure the Electoral Act adopted a strictly direct mode for primaries.

He noted that, although many members lost in the general elections, a larger number were defeated in the primaries, where the electorate’s judgment was bypassed. “What was put to test was what one or two leaders in their constituencies determined, whether they were returning or not. So, we lost a lot of legislators even at the primaries level, and that does not help our democracy,” he said.

The Speaker hinted that the National Assembly will review the Electoral Act 2022, the amended version of the 2010 Act applied to the 2023 elections. “Hopefully, moving forward we will perfect that document, the Electoral Act, which many people have celebrated but is still not perfect yet,” Gbajabiamila concluded.