Chief Olabode George, a former deputy national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has renewed his plea for Nigerians’ will to prevail as the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) is expected to rule on Wednesday.
In an interactive session with journalists on Monday in Lagos, George made the suggestion that the public rather than the judiciary should choose the winner of the election.
George stated in regards to the most recent general elections, “Our voting process is shambolic, stupid, and causes the country to be nosediving. It involves system modification.
“A glitch on the day of the election is unforgivable but INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu told us they were ready, but with what happened, generations to come will never forgive him.
“The most contentious issue in Nigeria today is the judiciary, it is one of the pillars of government. Is it right for the judiciary to tell us who won or lost the election? What we understand by democracy is Government of the people by the people and for the people but in our own case should it be Government of the judiciary by the judiciary and for the judiciary? Is that democracy?” he queried.
“It is the will of the people that should prevail. If you discover any wrong, ask them to go back and conduct fresh elections, even if it takes a hundred times. The job of the judiciary is not to tell us who lost or who won”, George said.
Speaking on the N5billion given to each state of the federation by the federal government as a consolation for the people following the removal of petroleum product subsidies, George criticised the move made by the federal government, claiming that the money donation to the states will cause inflation in the nation. He also disagreed with the justification for giving each state the same amount of money, saying that it is unfair to give each state the same amount of money.
He claimed that states with more people should not receive the same funding as ones with less people.
He said that some governors would syphon the money and that those who were intended to benefit from the alleged extravagance may not receive it.
“Lagos has about 22 million people, Bayelsa State has about 2 million people, Lagos got N5 billion, Bayelsa got N5 billion. Kano is heavily populated, Jigawa State is a small State, and they all got N5 billion each. What is the meaning of that?”
On the development going on in his political party, the PDP, he said very soon the elders and leaders of the party shall meet and discuss how to reposition the party and make it stronger, just as he assured the party supporters that the party won’t go under like the All Nigerian Peoples Party ANPP.
“We are still coming to discuss the crisis in our party. Our founding fathers did well, by sharing positions among the six geo-political zones. Our party misinterpreted that in the last elections. We are going to close the doors and talk about serious matters. We don’t want to go the way of ANPP,” he said.
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