The Vice-Presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Engr Yusuf Salisu Buhari has stated that reported cases of violence in some parts of the country would not deter the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from conducting the 2023 general elections.

Buhari who made this known while fielding questions from newsmen in Ibadan on Monday disclosed that INEC at different fora has assured the leadership of the registered political parties of its readiness to conduct the elections as scheduled.

He assured the people that elections would hold in the South East, North East and some other parts of the country that are having security challenges.

It will be recalled that INEC has hinted about the non-collection of a larger percentage of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) by the residents in the North Eastern region.

The Vice-Presidential candidate said the narratives would change before the INEC deadline for the collection of PVCs.

He stated that there wouldn’t be any reason for any part of the country not to take part in the forthcoming elections as it would be an avenue to project the image of the country to the rest of the world.

Buhari said the 2023 general elections are beyond politics but about who we are as citizens of this country and the projection of the image of the country to the rest of the world.

He said the country is being confronted with various challenges ranging from insecurity to economic crisis that could be attributed to bad leadership.

He said, ”Our moral values have collapsed. There is a systemic failure. There is a daily report of killings and kidnappings in the six geo-political zones. Our Nigeria has come to a very sad place in its history.

"The task ahead, according to the SDP Vice-Presidential candidate requires governance with full awareness of our differences so that we can fully harness and utilize the potential of these differences with justice.

"We must remind and re-educate ourselves that indeed our inherited cultures and religions, promote modesty, good conduct, integrity, justice, honesty, and simple kindness to neighbours, and even to strangers.

”This election is not first about defeating other opposing parties. This election is beyond politics. It is about who we are as a country and how we project the image of who we are to the rest of the world.

”We must think of the Nigerian people: the gallant men in uniform who sacrifice their lives to maintain law and order and the dignity of our country, the frontline workers who continue to risk their lives to save others, the farmers who refuse to allow insurgents, bandits and kidnappers stop them from sustaining our human existence, and our numerous young men and women working diligently as entrepreneurs or sports people, on the national and global stages who have become a source of pride to Nigeria,” he added.

He said the ambition of the SDP Presidential candidate, Prince Adewole Adebajo was borne out of his passion to serve the Country and liberate the people from the shackles of poverty.

”The SDP, when given the opportunity, will ensure social justices provide direction, protection and inspiration to all Nigerians.

”We will be honest in the process and win back the trust of Nigerians in leadership. We will ensure we put in place all necessary conditions to enable our population to prosper. We shall create equal opportunities for all.

”For employment, we plan to create 30 million jobs from 2,000 US companies in Agric, Infrastructure, ICT, Education, Entertainment etc," he added. (Nigerian Tribune)

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