September 4, (THEWILL) – As the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) is set to deliver judgement on Wednesday, a former Deputy National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, has reiterated the call for the will of Nigerians to prevail.
George made the call in an interactive session with Journalists in Lagos on Monday, saying the judiciary should not be the one to determine the winner but the people.
Speaking on the last general elections, George said, “Our electoral process is shambolic, nonsensical and makes the country to be nosediving. It is the manipulation of the system.
“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 N5 billion given to each state of the federation by the Federal Government as palliative for the people because of the removal of petroleum products subsidy, George faulted the step taken by the Federal Government saying the donation of money to the states will lead to inflation in the country, just as he disagreed with the rationale of giving each state the same amount of money.
He argued that those states with higher populations ought not to be given the same amount of money as states with lesser populations.
He maintained that those who were supposed to be beneficiaries of the so-called largesse may not get it and that some governors may siphon the money.
“Lagos has about 22 million people, Bayelsa State has about N2 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.
About the Author
AYO ESAN, has been actively reporting and analyzing political events for different newspapers for over 18 years. He has also successfully covered national and state elections in Nigeria since the inception of this democracy in 1999.
