PT Candidate, Olawepo-Hashim Congratulates Buhari, Tasks Him On Lapses

PT CANDIDATE, OLAWEPO-HASHIM, CONGRATULATES BUHARI, TASKS HIM ON LAPSES

Presidential
Candidate of People’s Trust (PT), Mr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim has
congratulated the candidate of the All Progress Congress (APC),
President Mohammadu Buhari on his declaration as the winner of last
Saturday’s presidential election, however calling on him to be mindful
of numerous lapses identified in the electioneering process.

Olawepo-Hashim
who ran a robust campaign harping on issues and preferring solutions to
them, stressed that not a few gaps including card reader failures,
thump printing of ballot papers, allocation of results, violence and
killing plagued the polls, but he is congratulating the declared winner
for the greater good, peace and progress of the nation and also in
compliance with the peace accord, which all the aspirants signed.

In
a detailed press statement where the usually cerebral politician
articulated his positions, he expressed his gratitude to the team of
supporters who broke the bandwagon and showed loyalty to him, making him
one of the frontrunners beyond the dominant party candidates.

He
went on: “I am particularly thankful to the people of Yauri Emirate and
Zuru in Kebbi State who spoke through their votes that family ties
cannot be easily broken by politics. While the APC and PDP remained the
dominant parties in Kebbi State, the great people of Kebbi State showed
loyalty to the bloodline by making sure that People’s Trust emerged
third in most of the State. I continued to receive calls of support and
solidarity from titleholders in the emirates and village heads who
continued to say to me, ‘I hope you saw our hand?’. I saw their hands.
The votes were many, not the 96 votes declared by Professor Mahmood
Yakubu, Chairman of INEC”

Usually calm and collected,
Olawepo-Hashim was clear in maintaining that his party went around the
country in the campaign season and were one of the few alternative
candidates to the two dominant parties, APC and PDP, who organized
rallies and engaged in commercial advertising both on the print and the
electronic media right to the last day of campaigning.

Their
messages, he noted were clear that Nigeria can indeed build a US$4
trillion economy within 10 years, and that the country can be united
and secured, besides the ability to employ youths by creating 4 million
jobs per year and paying workers a living wage of not less than N50,000.

According
to the business mogul turned politician: “We passed a strong message
that a ‘new and better Nigeria is possible’. Now the election has been
won and lost. It is my duty, as a matter of honour as all contestants
signed an accord to keep the peace and congratulate the winner. I
therefore offer my felicitation to the winner of the 2019 Presidential
election, President Mohammad Buhari. I pray for God’s guidance for him
and wisdom as he steers the ship of State further in the next four
years”

He explained that the nation cannot pretend everything has
been smooth in the processes leading to the election and the election
itself. Some of the ugly realities are assignments for political leaders
and the entire citizenry to fix in the immediate future with a view to
resolving them so as to building a stronger democracy, a more united and
prosperous Nigeria.

The candidate with a rich history of
activism alleged an attempt to politically delegitimize the People’s
Trust (PT), its presidential candidate and other platforms. Pursuant to
this, the series of ridiculous votes in the region of 40, 90, 100 in
different States allocated by Professor Yakubu, the chairman of the INEC
and his team does not in any way reflect number of votes obtained by
the People’s Trust in the elections. The total votes announced in many
States and FCT were in fact less than votes recorded in some and most of
the polling units.

To the gallant contestant, while People’s
Trust cannot claim to have out-performed the APC and PDP in any State,
in most States of the North-Central and Kebbi State, it recorded votes
that place it in the third position.

“Unfortunately, the handler
and fixers of the current exercise will rather choose to ridicule the
People’s Trust while allocating huge figure to shadowy parties that were
deliberately registered and propped-up to give support and legitimacy
to the ruling party. The whole idea was started earlier in the campaign
season, by scheming the People’s Trust out of the Presidential debate
and electronic media channels controlled by the ruling party”

Rather
unruffled, he continued: “These political forces who are not simply
contented with rigging elections in 2019 alone, also want to determine
the set of political platforms to promote for the future. They want to
play God over our destiny. These forces are unhappy that the People’s
Trust submitted the highest nominations into offices during the
nomination exercise. They are unhappy that we won the online votes
amongst the alternative parties. They have done everything to attack and
destroy our platform, but we are undaunted and not intimidated”

He
alleged further that “the odious scheme of this anti-PT forces finally
came to the fore when one of the private stations controlled by the
ruling party quickly assembled some proxy analysts to lampoon the ‘bad
showing’ of some young parties, they immediately launched a
deregistration of these parties, even only after the results of only two
States had been officially announced, this is how petty, ugly and low,
the electoral and political process in 2019 has descended to”

On
electoral irregularities, violence and killings, the business magnate
stated that it was noted in many locations and the unusual large numbers
of cancelled votes in Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa and other areas.
“Incidentally, these States fall within the catchment areas of the
People’s Trust (PT). In many States, we have received reports of ballot
snatching, delayed arrival of voting materials or deliberate
non-distribution of materials and wide spread irregularities. We hope
the managers of the process will address these problems and stop further
bloodshed in the land.

Other than this, he said in the build-up
to the election, following the initial postponement, they envisaged the
present scenario and the reason why they requested in their letter
dated 17th February, 2019 for a four week postponement of the polls to
allow for a properly audited system and a cool-off period from what was
obviously a desperate election scenario. Unfortunately, the major
parties appear to be interested in having the election anyhow and not
properly.

“The outcome of the 2019 Presidential elections, even
though we have accepted it in the interest of peace and stability of the
country, fall short of international standard and the standard
established at the 2015 election. President Mohammad Buhari must, soon
after the Governorship and State Assembly elections, probe the
inefficient conduct of the INEC. It will be time also to have a national
conversation on how to unbundle the INEC and have a more efficient and
transparent Election Management Process”

On vote buying, he said
they “saw massive voters’ inducement with cash especially by the two
dominant parties. Whatever support therefore, obtained by them has been
immorally and illegally acquired. Cash deployed have also been above the
threshold set by the electoral act. One unfortunate dimension of the
vote purchase market in the just concluded Presidential election is that
the practice was not just driven by unscrupulous politicians desperate
for votes but by the demand of about 60% of the voters who turned for
financial gratification before voting. Candidates who refused to offer
cash-for-votes were generally referred to as ‘unserious candidates’ and
severely punished at the polls. Nigerians as a people must have a honest
debate about vote buying and its impact on the electoral outcome and
governance”

Concluding, Olawepo-Hashim said the election showed
that the victor has secured a massively tainted victory that lives
behind ‘a sour taste in the mouth’ and a broken polity. It is his
responsibility to pick the pieces and heal the wounds that have already
been inflicted in the land.

“On my part, I consider it a
rewarding participation in spite of the outcome. It is always honourable
to stand up for duty to one’s country, regardless of the outcome. I
remain undaunted; I remain solid in my faith that a better Nigeria is
Possible. I pledge to you that you will find me always a willing partner
in the unfinished assignment for the peace, unity and prosperity of
Nigeria, even as the future beacons”