A former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Bode George, has described as a “load of trash”, insinuations that he was responsible for the party’s lack of victory in Lagos gubernatorial polls since 1999.
George, who is a PDP chieftain in Lagos, said that the party has not tasted victory in the state because of lapses in the nation’s electoral system.
According to him, manual transmission of election results, money politics, thuggery, among others were some of the impediments to the party’s victory in the state.
“The process of electioneering in this country in the 21st century is a joke, where people are carrying papers by hand from your polling unit to the collation centre. It doesn’t make sense. We’ve been talking about electronic voting, nobody is listening. It’s a joke. Somebody in Lagos has stolen so much money that he’s richer than Nigeria, so how can you win an election?
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“Look at the last local government elections in Lagos. The people were so despondent that they didn’t come out to vote. It was a disgrace because they are tired of this life. You say, ‘You cannot win.’ How can you win? Do you know the humongous amount of money the fellow has stolen? With people who are hungry and angry, they would buy them out and write the results for them. I don’t know where this country is going. We need to speak truth to power. Our process is terrible and very heart-wrenching. What is the challenge? Why can’t we do e-voting, so that the votes of the people and the will of the people will be respected? What a joke! We are not serious.
“2023 is around the corner and I am pleading with the President that they should bring out the report of the constitutional conference, revisit it and let us restructure the country. That is the only thing that can bring peace to this nation. All the people jumping all over the place, thinking, ‘In 2023, I’m going to be president,’ it’s all a joke. The electoral process is faulty, so the results will be faulty. The people you will then say are members of the National Assembly or governors will be faulty. We have tried this structure, it is not working and it can never work,” George told Sunday Punch.