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***Says it is out to rescue Nigeria from the mess created by PDP and the APC

***Laments that it is  very shameful and disgraceful hearing of  candidates of PDP, APC  accusing themselves  of criminal and corruption baggage openly before Nigerians, the international Community

*** How I was approached two days before the election that they can help me manipulate results,  I disagreed and told them to market it elsewhere, Segun Oni

By Henry Umoru, ABUJA

AHEAD of Saturday, February 25th  Presidential and General elections, the Social Democratic Party, SDP boasted yesterday that all the candidates it presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC are without any pending cases of criminal or corruption charges hanging on any of them.

According to the SDP, it was out for the elections to rescue Nigeria from what it described as the mess created by the two highly rated Political Parties, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and the All Progressives Congress, APC in the country.

Speaking yesterday in Abuja at the end of a  two day Stakeholders meeting organized for the Party’s Candidates in the coming Elections, the SDP National Chairman, Alhaji Shehu Musa Gabam said, “As the preparations for the forthcoming General Elections hot up, the Social Democratic Party, SDP has successfully presented only Credible Candidates without any pending cases of criminal or corruption charges hanging on any of them to the Independent National Electoral Commision, INEC in readiness of the Party to rescue the nation from the mess created by the rwo highly rated Political Parties, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and the All Progressives Congress, APC in the country.”

Gabam who noted that the Party’s leadership closed its eyes on generating huge sums of money from sales of forms to aspirants, but went for only the best candidates in the National interest unlike others, said that the ball was now in the court of the Electorate to vote for only people without questionable characters, just as he lamented that it was very shameful and disgraceful to be hearing of candidates of the two leading Political Parties to be accusing one and another of criminal and corruption baggage openly before Nigerians and the international Community.

According to him,” this is shameful, our Electorate should go for the best the SDP is offering, we have the integrity, that is  what we are telling the Electorate now.

Gabam who declared that the party was ready for the elections, however, assured Nigerians that all the candidates put forward by the party will not disappoint Nigerians if voted into power, adding,  “If Nigerians are looking for young people, we have provided the needed people at every level from the governorship to National Assembly,  to State Assemblies. We did not go for revenue generation when we were choosing candidates,  but we went for quality people.

“We must rescue our country from hawks parading themselves as our Messiah, they have all the facts on how they mismanaged our resources and they are now exposing themselves, Nigerians should reject them for the alternative which is our SDP.

” With the Credible Candidates we are parading, Iam sure of a  resounding victory at the polls all round, we are proud of being the third largest Party in the country and we are ready to storm the country, win the polls and change the naration as evisaged by the founding fathers of the Party.

“We are expecting all our candidates to go out and campaign. You must reach out to voters. We are going to be present in polling units that is why we made provisions to give you the list of voters in all polling units across the country.

Gabam also stressed the need for all candidates to have agents across the polling units in their constituencies, noting that “polling agents are necessary to prevent vote buying and manipulations”

Also Speaking, the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, in the June 18, 2022, election in Ekiti State, Olusegun Oni urged all the Political Parties for the polls to unite and dialogue with the INEC on how to make the Elections successful.

He said, ” the normal slonga that elections will be free and Fair is not enough, the electoral body must follow the provisions of the new Electoral Act to the latter and not what happened in Èkìtì state.

Former Governor Segun Oni revealed how certain elements in the business of election rigging approached him and offered to help him rig the Ekiti governorship election, just as he said that crafty salesmen who were professionals in writing election results called him two days to the Ekiti poll,  but he rejected the ‘greek gift’ because he was an advocate of due process.

Oni, while addressing the stakeholders stated: “Don’t think the upcoming election will be free and fair, so be prepared, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) can spin embarrassment on anybody including the ruling party. We will assume fairness,  but the unfair character that comes out in the process can be served to anyone”

“Two days before the Ekiti election, I was bombarded with a lot of calls from crafty salesmen who are in charge of election results writing. They approached me and told me that they can help me manipulate results,  but I disagreed and told them to market it elsewhere.

“I heard that some candidates signed into the result padding. But the issue is, it could be frustrating if we as a country can’t sign up for elections that should be free and fair. Therefore, I am challenging INEC to be more transparent and prove to parties that they would be transparent. The process they have put in place may seem to run well,  but will it be allowed to run well?”

While recalling that his legal team was prevented from having access to inspect election materials during the Election Tribunal in Ado Ekiti, he warned that irrespective of the innovations brought by INEC, the process could still be manipulated by desperate politicians.

He added: “Accreditation has been taken beyond manipulation. I want to advise political parties to insist that accreditation should happen and not be said to have happened. For instance, the paper they were shuffling in Ekiti was disguised as accreditation. At the tribunal, we made a request for INEC to give us access and inspect the Bimodal Voter Accreditation Machine Systems (BIVAS), the tribunal granted us access before it started and when started sitting, we told them that INEC refused their instruction. They reissued the order but I can tell you that we the SDP were not allowed access to inspect BVAS, used and unused ballot papers by INEC. INEC believe it has gotten away with that, unfortunately, political parties who were rigged out are not asking a question.”

Other Speakers included the National Secretary, Dr Olu Agunloye, Presidential candidate Prince Adewole Adebayo who was represented by his Vice Candidate, Deputy Director General SDP Presidential Campaign Council, Dr Lami Hamadu, and the Adamawa State Governorship Candidate, Dr Umar Ado amongst others expressed optimism that the Party would take the nation by the storm with the way it was being administered by its leadership.