Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, a former presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has said the electorate will punish insensitive politicians in the 2023 general election.
He was reacting to comments making the rounds on Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s choice of Kashim Shettima, a Muslim from the north, as running mate.
Olawepo-Hashim said there is no need to quarrel or make further inflammatory statements about Tinubu’s choice, saying the polls should be the avenue for such grievances to be expressed.
“While we all have the right to express ourselves, we should avoid incendiary comments that can further pose a huge challenge to our national integration objectives.
“Let us quietly make our decisions and express such decisions with our votes,” he said.
“That is democracy there is no need for quarrel.”
The former member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) also took a swipe at politicians who paid delegates to vote for them at the primaries, saying they must know that it would be an uphill task to buy over 40 million Nigerians’ votes to win the 2023 election.
He added that “anyone who loves his or her party and loves Nigeria must ensure that their parties do the right things.
“Buying up delegates at the party conventions is the cheapest thing to do, the general election is a different ball game. National security is at stake, not just anything will pass,” he said.
He urged President Muhammadu Buhari to deliver on his promise that the 2023 election would be free and fair, saying it is high time elections reflected Nigerians’ true will.
