By Henry Uche
Chairman and founder of Africa Leadership Group (ALG), Pastor Ituah Ighodalo, has told Nigerians to use their Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) to pass judgement on political leaders.
Addressing newsmen at the official launch of the ALG leadership Assessment Tool in Lagos, the cleric said electorate’s judgement should be either in favour of elected officials who have achieved sufficient feats (and seeking re-elections), while those who have done nothing for the people should be voted out.
Ighodalo said the current economic comatose was a deliberate scheme against the people.
“Nigeria cannot afford to get it wrong this time. We must intentionally and carefully select leaders fit for purpose at this time who can lead us out of this national crisis.”
He condemned the heightened level of acrimony among the major political parties and excruciating economic hardship occasioned by severe shortages of fuel and the redesigned bank notes, resulting in public disturbances and riots throughout the country.
He urged Nigerians to maintain peace and rather use their voices and votes wisely after evaluating all political candidates against clear principles and qualities of strong leadership.
The cleric said a candidate that must attract the votes of the people must be a nationalist, have vision, energetic, physical and mentally healthy and must have adequate understanding of the times.
“We need a man with Vision, a man of integrity who possesses moral, ethical principles and values. He must be a motivator- who inspires and does not pressure people to follow. He must be educated – who possesses strong intellectual capacity and diverse knowledge. Nigeria need a man who must be accessible – who must surround himself with people of truth and honesty.”
We need a team player, he must understand the requirements of the office – understand politics and effectively manage the complexity of bureaucracy, and above all, he must be a godly man. We don’t need desperate men who can do the unthinkable to get to power,” he said.
He warned those who are ready to be used as agents against the polls to rethink and desist.
“People must think of consequences. Nobody is insulated against the consequences of what he or she does. The youths must have conscience and ‘Say no’ to electoral violence. The security personnel to be deployed must deliver professionally. I believe they have been trained for this job. Let no sad news be heard from any quarter. The police and its sister security personnel must be unbiased. This election must hold as scheduled and we hopeful that INEC must pronounced winners which much reflect the number of votes cast and counted at the polling boots,” he said.
He said the ALG was committed to ensuring that lawful votes count and would collaborate with other credible organisations and volunteers to ensure the integrity of free and fair elections.