People of Ondo State in particular and Nigeria in general have been called upon to go out en masse to get registered in the ongoing Continue Voter’s Registration (CVR) exercise ahead of the 2023 general elections.
Dr. Abiola Oshodi, the CEO of Triple A and T Integrated Farms, made the call on Thursday while commenting on the socio-economic and political situations in Nigeria.
The Owo-born psychiatrist based in Canada noted that it’s imperative for those who have not been registered, particularly those who just attained the voting age to get registered during the exercise so that they can determine who occupies and represents them in public offices.
Dr. Oshodi explained that voting power allows the people to choose characters who have pedigree and proven records of integrity to represent them in public offices and they would not be disappointed.
According to him, “It is important for our people of voting age to go out and get registered and collect their PVC so that when it’s election time, they can elect into political offices characters who are known to them to be upright and capable of performing very well.
“The idea of imposing on the people characters with tainted records would be impossible as the people would vote for their preferred candidate irrespective of the political platform s/he’s contesting on.”
The founder of Dr. Abiola Oshodi Foundation, which focuses on rendering assistance to the underprivileged in achieving their academic pursuits, cautioned the people to eschew accepting money in exchange for their votes.
He expressed fear that if electorates didn’t retrace their footsteps from such direction, the possibility of the nation coming out of the woods would remain a tall dream.
“Let me sound a note of warning, if our people who have voting right and PVCs do not desist from collecting money in exchange for their votes, the prevailing socio-economic and political challenges in the nation would remain unresolved.Who has money for votes helped take out of poverty ??? If you register with INEC and use your PVC well , we can collectively end the miseries in the land .
“It is only through the ballot that we can save the nation from the precipice of socio-economic and political collapse it is now.
“Our people should learn from their past mistakes of mortgaging their future and the future of their children for a paltry sum offered them by politicians and their cronies at polling stations,” Dr. Oshodi said.
He, however, commended Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for its efforts in curtailing electoral malpractices through introduction of electronic registration and plan to introduce electronic voting.
Dr. Oshodi urged the electoral body to sensitise the people on reasons they should get registered and collect their PVCs as well as participating in the voting exercise during elections.
