Falana Mentions Professionals Who Can't Contest for President, Gives Reason
Femi Falana, a prominent Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), has alleged that the newly amended Electoral Act 2026 did not give room for some professionals in Nigeria to contest for the Nigerian presidency, due to their incomes.
In a viral video, the legal practitioner maintained that the law was made by members of the ruling class to maintain the status quo, and it is not meant to help ordinary Nigerians.
Source: Twitter
Falana explained that Nigerians who are clamouring for the real-time transmission of electoral results are not raising the right alarm, adding that "If you look at that law, it’s saying if you want to contest for the presidency of Nigeria, you must have 10 billion naira or I think 5 billion naira, isn’t it?"
He noted that though the law was made by lawmakers who claimed to be representing the people, they are representing themselves.
His statement reads in part:
"That already excludes professors, excludes workers, excludes lawyers and the majority of Nigerians who are not billionaires. I don’t think most of us have read this part."
However, the trending video has started generating reactions from Nigerians. Below are some of their comments:
Big Gem said Nigeria is not practising democracy:
"We’re practising plutocracy, but they’re using democracy to deceive people. How many billionaires does Nigeria have? And guess what? They’re already amassing billions of your money for their children to continue, while your own children will join the crowd fighting for rice."
Global Isaac claimed that it was the reason for embezzlement in the Nigerian system:
"So you must even be a billionaire before becoming the president. So tell me why they won’t embezzle money, because all of them want to become the president."
Máyọ̀wá explained what the law really says:
"Is that what’s written in the law? Oh my God. What I read was that you can’t spend more than N5 billion and N10 billion for governors and the president, respectively, for your campaign or election. It didn’t say the aspirants must have that amount before vying for the position."
Adeniyi Andero accused Falana of being a media lawyer and questioned why he kept mute when the law was being debated:
"Media SAN has started. All they’re interested in is gaslighting the public. The law was debated, you won’t hear anything from them, but after the ball has left the goal post, you see them ranting."
See the video of Falana's claim on X here:
Source: Legit.ng
