Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Prince Adewole Adebayo has urged Nigerians not to use their Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs) to enslave themselves.
Adebayo said this at the weekend during his speech at the SDP presidential/gubernatorial flag-off in Ogun State.
The presidential candidate told the crowd at the venue of the rally that their brain is the most important they have going into the elections, saying it will guide them to make proper use of their PVCs.
He asked, “People have told me that the most powerful instrument in democracy is PVC. Do you agree?”
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To that, the crowd chorused a ‘YES’. Adebayo, however, responded by saying “you are wrong”.
He continued, “The most powerful instrument in politics is your brain because you can have PVC and vote against your own interest.
“You can use PVC to enslave yourself. You can even sell your PVC which is worth more than N30 billion, you can sell it for N10,000.
“So PVC is not your solution, it is good to have it. Your sense is your solution. So after dancing, you go back home and ask yourself ‘these people that I met today, are they sincere? Do they understand my situation? Do they understand how to run a government? Do they have the fear of God and the love of man? Do they have a conscience?’
“Don’t look at my face. I can get somebody to put powder on my face and I will look very nice.
“Don’t look at my poster because that poster is the work of a photographer.
“What you should look at is how can I use 2023 to change my life history, to serve under a government run by human beings for human beings?
“Because when human beings are running a government, you will have water to drink, you will have a house with ventilation. Seven people will not be packing into one room. You will have a gainful job that when you get your employment, you will not call any family member for support again in your life.”
The SDP presidential candidate then noted that the electorate need to be wise as they are the ones in need of an improved way of life and not the politicians, whom he described as deceptive.
He said, “Politics is not for politicians and politics is not entertainment.
“We can dance, we can do whatever but at the end of the day, when you finish dancing the politician will enter his Mercedes (Benz) and go to his mansion. You will enter danfo (public buses that are often rickety) and go to your house without light.
“As you are dancing, the politician’s money is in the bank, immediately he enters his car he will call his bank manager, how many millions there?
“You will be looking for money to buy garri, so, you have to understand that whatever is wrong with Nigerian politics, it is not wrong with the politician.
“That is why a politician who is in (state) House of Assembly wants to promote himself to the House of Reps. The one in the House of Reps wants to promote himself to the Senate.
“The one in the Senate wants to promote himself to governor. Governor wants to go to National Assembly; some governors want to become president. So, whatever happens to Nigeria, the politician is getting promotion.
“When are you going to get your own promotion? So the only thing you can do is to understand your politics.”
He urged the people not to be deceived by leaders who claim there is no money in government.
He said, “When your governor says there is no money in government, he is lying to you. If there is no money in government, 25 vehicles will not be following one governor.
“If there is no money in government, the governor after one year, he will resign and go home. Why is he doing four years and still coming back again if there is no money there?
“So they are saying there is no money for you. The politicians, I have been mixing with them, their life is very comfortable”, Prince Adebayo said.