Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, who is a Presidential hopeful running under the aegis of the Peoples Trust has tackled Osinbajo’s statement in which he said a win for Buhari would increase the chances of a Yoruba win in the 2023 elections.
Olawepo-Hashim said in a statement that Osinbajo and others like him are “agents of ethnic balkanisation and political retrogression.”
The Presidential candidate said that the office of the President should be one that transcends ethnicity and shouldn’t be decided in such a manner.
“That reprehensible statement promising 2023 presidency to the South West should never have emanated from the Office of the Vice-President.” he said in the statement.
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“That office transcends tribal thinking. The Presidency is and should be a rallying point for all Nigerians irrespective of tribes or religions.”
“Nigerians have grown beyond this bigotry through inter-marriage, electoral endorsement and business union.
“As early as First Republic, the Tiv people elected a Kanuri man as their representative to the Northern House of Assembly.
“In 1993, late Abiola beat Bashir Tofa in Kano. Today, so disappointing, some top leaders instead of building on our achievements in the area of national unity, are busy pushing to split and reopen old animosity and rancor among our people.”
Olawepo-Hashim said that the President should look to provide for the people under his care and that anyone who gets into the office should be there due to merit rather than because of tribe or any other thing of the like.
“The Presidency must be about how further to unite the country, not how to divide it more.
“It must be about how to bring progress, not how to foster underdevelopment.
“It is not about ethnicity or religion but on what you have to offer the people and the state.
“Let those seeking re-election campaign on their records. Using state funds to curry votes through TraderMoni and other contraptions is very cheap and ridiculous.
“Let us focus on the realities of underdevelopment threatening our collective existence.
“For me and our party, we preach a Pan-Nigerian agenda as a modern state where citizenship is for individuals, not based on ethnic or religion.
“I will be a President of all Nigerians, regardless of their political, religious and tribal inclinations,” he said.