Saraki said it was already too late for such persons to stand any chance of winning an election in this country, adding that the system is too rigid.

“You have to give up some good values that you have to be able to be competitive,” the former Kwara State Governor said at the weekend during an Independence lunch with diverse Nigerian youths in Abuja.

“It is too late to win election. I will be very honest with you. The System is too rigid against you. You are a young guy, you don’t have money or network where are you going to start from?

“I don’t even want you to [contest] because you still have some good values. I don’t want you to be corrupted because for you to win you have to give up some good values that you have to be able to be competitive.

“We don’t want that because it means your generation will be as bad as ours. Let’s keep you where you are for now for those who are not yet corrupted.

“Where I believe you can make a difference which no one can stop you is your a rights to vote. That’s the only role you can play now in reality.

“We should be asking if that is guaranteed. That is what we have been advocating for in the electoral bill and it has worked.

“I think what needs to be done now is that we must participate. Let me explain further, on the day of election, if you look at the line of people that go out to vote… if the people coming out to vote are people we can give 100 naira, the election will not stand. This means we can manipulate. But if the 500 people lining up are people like you election will hold.

“If we say we won’t come out because nothing will change …if we take that attitude, then they will win. Look at all over the world where there is big change, people that made the change are people like you. If you are not registered to vote, nothing will change. It will be who we want to be Governor, Senator that will be.