Babafemi Ojudu, the former senator representing Ekiti Central Senatorial District, has said a bill he introduced on the floor of the National Assembly to mandate any aspiring political officeholder, particularly presidential candidates, to publicly debate their intention was thrown into the trash bin.

Mr Ojudu explained that if the bill had been passed, it would have established the National Debate Commission and allowed Nigerians to question the intellectual competence of those aspiring to lead them.

He said the bill was outrightly rejected by his “incompetent, intellect-deficient and selfish colleagues” in the upper legislative chamber who felt that if allowed to scale through, it might affect them or serve as an albatross to their future ambitions.

“While I was at the Senate, I initiated a bill that will mandate all presidential aspirants to face one another in a debate broadcast live by all national TVs nationwide. That development, I believe, would afford Nigerians the opportunity to weigh the intellectual competence of leaders aspiring to lead them and make informed choices,” he said at the weekend.

Speaking at a capacity-building legislative workshop at the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), in Ondo State, Mr Ojudu said he was pained that the bill he sponsored could not be passed at the parliament house.  

He spoke on the theme: “From Initiatives to Laws: Legislative Competence in a Dynamic World’ at the event organised by the student representative council of the AAUA.

The former special adviser to the immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari on political matters added that the bill would have also been a source of inspiration and platform to train future Nigerian political leaders. 

“The bill, if passed, would also have established a National Debate Commission, which will ensure the sustenance and continuity of the initiative and serve as a training platform for future Nigerian leaders.

“Unfortunately, however, the bill was rejected by my opportunistic colleagues who felt such a bill could affect them in one way or the other, whether directly or indirectly,” Mr Ojudu added.

In 2013, Mr Ojudu introduced a bill to establish the Nigerian Political Debate Commission, which would be responsible for conducting and organising public debates for candidates of political parties in Nigeria.

He said the bill, which aimed at ensuring accountability for political office holders, was later seconded to the Rules and Business Committee of the Senate, headed by its chairman, former senator Ita Enang.

In 2023, ahead of the presidential election, the agitation for public debate for the presidential candidates, particularly between Bola Tinubu of the APC, Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Atiku Abubakar of the PDP became a public discourse in the Nigerian polity.