By: Bola Badmus- Lagos
Former Deputy National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, has called on past presidents and Heads of State in the country to come out and speak truth to power, urging them not to keep silent as “it is grieving to see Nigeria slowly sliding into a state of perpetual hopelessness.”
Besides, the PDP chieftain also expressed worries about the silence of the opposition parties in the country in the midst of the raging problems, calling on the ruling party to quickly have a rethink.
George made the call on Thursday at a press briefing he addressed at his Ikoyi office, titled “Nigeria 2023: time for sober reflection,” just as he quickly noted that the silence of the former leaders might have been because they were shocked beyond comprehension with the current situation the country had found herself.
This was just as the PDP chieftain, who is also the Atona Oodua of the Source, said that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) lacked moral justification to present candidate for the presidential election based of the situation it had subjected Nigerians to whereby no availability of cash and petrol for people to fuel their vehicles, which he described as worrisome and uncalled for.
“I think they must speak up, their silence is worrisome, they should spoke up. This is the time to talk, and speak truth to power.
“So our former leaders must speak out, if they don’t speak out, history would not be kind with them. They should talk now,” he said.
Chief George said the situation of things in the country under APC- led Federal Government, “the olden rule called ‘order’ – a legal and constitutional process of conformity with law or decorum – seems to have taken a flight from Nigeria’s political, economic and social lives.”
He said it amounted to absolute lunacy for anybody to campaign for the ruling APC or to contest on its platform, due to the state of formlessness it had thrown Nigeria into, declaring that such way of handling the country’s affairs “puzzles rationality.”
“If it were a civilised country, APC lack moral right to go out and campaign, the ruling party has returned us to stone age, whereby goods are exchanged for people to get what they need,” he said.
Chief George, who noted that the issue around the PDP presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar with the G-5 was yet to be resolved and, therefore, would not back him yet for the race, until the matter was resolved.
He, however, enjoined Nigerians to open their hearts and minds and vote the right candidates with competence that could take Nigerian to the Promised Land, in the 2023 General Elections, urging them not to allow political party’s sentiment to becloud their sense of reasoning.
Speaking further on Atiku, George said in as much his party ignored to offer South-West any party position, he had nothing to do with the presidential candidate for now, until the contending issues in the party raised were addressed, just as he noted that 24hours was too long in arriving at political decisions.
“This election has nothing to do with a political party, let us analyse the candidates one after the other and settle for a better candidate,” he said.
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