SDP flag bearer, Adebayo, accuses Nigerian politicians of vote-buying, tasks Nigerians on participatory politics

Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential candidate, Adewole Adebayo, on Tuesday, accused Nigerian politicians of indulging in the illegal act of vote-buying.

Adewole, who spoke during a Channels TV interview, Sunrise Daily, cited Osun and Ekiti polls to lament the consequences of the practice on the survival of Nigeria.

This came as a comment on the proposed plan by the National Assembly to set up a tribunal to prosecute electoral offenders.

The move, according to the legal expert, would amount to nothing given the urge of Nigerian politicians for undue votes.

Adebayo further described lawmakers in the country as hypocrites, stressing that majority of them bought votes to get to where they are today.

“The problem of Nigeria is hypocrisy. Majority of those in the National Assembly are vote buyers even though they’re passing laws against the practice. It’s easier to come from the buyers. Many of them did vote buying in their primaries. They are only passing the law they know they are going to disobey”, he said.

The presidential candidate argued that “there is need in this country to call out people who engage in wrong things.”

He blamed Nigeria’s situation on the paucity of good leaders and lack of political understanding by Nigerian voters.

Read also:2023: SDP presidential candidate, Adebayo, rules out alliance with APC, PDP

He, therefore, charged Nigerians to be politically active in order to drive the country forward.

He said: “Consciously or unconsciously, we’re saying that the issue with Nigeria is lack of credible leaders. Others things needed for the country to grow are available and will work if right leaders are in place. Good decisions, not lamentation, can change the country for the better.

“We need to outgrow scepticism and cynicism and come out tenaciously to do what is right. Nigerian voters are not as powerless as they have been made to believe. All you need to do is know what candidates stand for and implications of the spot we’re today.

“My interaction with the people shows that they know what’s right but sometimes don’t want to make the sacrifice. The fact that there is hunger and poverty in the country shouldn’t make us take wrong steps. Misinterpretation of politics is responsible for citizens’ wrong decisions and lack of interest in the system. We need to understand that participatory politics is the pathway to greatness.”

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