By Bilesanmi Abayomi
The NNPP Candidate for Kosofe Federal House of Representatives, Abdulwaheed Odunuga has expressed his regret about the involvement of religious leaders in electoral malpractice during the 2023 election.
Speaking at the 13th Annual Ramadan Lecture, with the theme “The Girl Child and Child Dedication of the group’s Founder, Abdulwaheed Omotayo Odunuga”, the candidate called for a reduction of the role of religion and ethnicity in Nigerian politics for the country’s democracy to thrive.
Odunuga believed that the 2023 election was a wake-up call for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Nigerians, and the government. He had monitored elections since 1992, and he claimed that the 2023 election was the worst he had ever seen in his life. He decried the rampant vote-buying and harassment of voters who were forced to vote for the ruling party, APC.
Despite these challenges, Odunuga stated that the 2023 election was a good contest because it had gone through the entire Kosofe Federal constituency within five to six months. He added that he had met many people he would not have met if he had not contested, and he had learned a lot from the experience.
The NNPP candidate emphasized that they needed to sensitize the people to the need for a credible alternative. He observed that people were not sensitized enough and were gullible to greedy politicians who divided them along ethnic and religious lines. Odunuga urged the media to help sensitize people and reduce the role of religion and ethnicity in Nigerian politics.
Odunuga said that, despite the electoral body rigging out the NNPP, it was a popular credible alternative. He urged his people not to lose hope and to keep fighting for a better future. The candidate emphasized that popular credibility and impacting the lives of the people were what mattered in an election, not playing the ethnic or religious card.