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From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
As Nigerians go to the polls this Saturday to elect new president and members of National Assembly, a member of House of Representatives, Shina Peller, representing Iseyin/Itesiwaju/Kajola/Iwajowa federal constituency of Oyo State, on Thursday said the citizens of this country can fix the system failure, besetting the progress of the country, if they can elect credible leader.
He also said Nigerians should not conclude that the whole general elections for this year should centre on the president alone, saying the president is a part of the system and that a total of 1,488 candidates are contesting for various elective positions during the general elections.
Peller, who made the disclosure in an interview with journalists on the sidelines of the grand finale of his campaign, appealed to eligible voters to support credible candidates, including himself for Oyo North senatorial district, on the platform of Accord.
According to him, “It is time for us to look beyond one person. One person cannot solve the problem of Nigeria. Nigeria is suffering from system failure, and we must give it a systematic approach. A system is a group of people or components, working together harmoniously for a common goal.
“So, instead of just voting for one person or party, they should identify people across with competence and character and let us vote for the next 1,488 people that are contesting in the 2023 polls, based on competence and character. Instead of voting for one person, join us in this our project 1488, which is 990 Houses of Assembly members across the 36 states of the federation, 360 House of Representatives members, 109 senators, 28 governors and one president.
“If we achieve success doing this, it will be success for the country, electorate, political stakeholders. Nigeria is beyond what one man can do. No man or woman can resolve the problem of Nigeria. We need to build a team that will work together and put this country where the country should be.”
Peller, however, enjoined electorate to shun vote-selling and vote-buying, as he described Accord as a party through which a new, functional system could be achieved, starting from the Presidential and National Assembly elections this Saturday, adding: “People are tired of the present system. They want a breath of fresh air and I strongly believe that Accord is the party that will lead us to a new, functional system starting from Oyo State.
“My message to the electorate is that 2023 has provided us a chance to rewrite the story of our great nation when people will have the opportunity to go to the polls and vote for candidates of their choice.
“I have always advised our people not to focus on one candidate, the president is just one person out of a system and our country is suffering from a system failure. People should vote their conscience, competence, character, capacity and not just money and popularity and they should try as much as possible to support young candidates because we have more young people in the world today.
“Due to the existence of technology, an average young people in Nigeria today is exposed to direct competition with their peers anywhere in the world. So, we should user in a pro-youth government, a government that can create an enabling environment for youth to strive in Nigeria. This is an opportunity for us to do that, people should run away from vote-buying.”
Peller, who is an indigene of Iseyin in Oke Ogun zone of Oyo State, also stated that after he defected from All Progressives Congress (APC) to Accord, he did not institute any litigation against anyone. He added that, though he aspired for the Oyo North APC senatorial ticket, he was not desperate for it. He explained that if he wanted the APC senatorial tickect by all means, he would have approached the court to challenge the purported Oyo North APC senatorial primaries, which he described as kangaroo.
He made it known that he decided not to approach any court on the matter because he wants to serve as a leading example to young ones who may experience same but cannot afford to go to court.
