As Nigerians await the verdict of the presidential election tribunal, former national vice president of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olabode George, has said he fears that the nation would be thrown into turmoil if any of the petitioner’s or respondents win the case.

Speaking at the fifth annual lecture organised by Freedom Online, with theme: “2023-2027: Nigerians, Elected Leaders and Expectations”, which held in Lagos on Tuesday, George, a former governor of old Ondo State, said he is worried about what would happen if the verdict of the tribunal sway either to the respondents (President Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress and the Independent National Electoral Commission), or the petitioners’ (the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi and that of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar).

“We are in a situation where if the court favours A, there would be trouble and if the court favours B, there would also be trouble. The way most of our elected leaders take life, it is as if there would be no tomorrow. May God forgive our transgressions and direct the minds of our political leaders in ensuring a good life to all our people in Nigeria.

“As we match towards 2027, I remain optimistic that the new set of leaders produced by the general elections of 2023 will seek to take the country to the next level. I foresee a future in which our institutions will be stronger and this includes the judiciary, the anti-corruption watchdogs, the media, the opposition and all the groups whose duty is to keep our leaders in check,” he said.

Governor Douye Dir, who was represented by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Daniel Alabrah, lamented that Nigeria has failed to attain its potential 60 years after independence. He called on politicians to empower youths and ensure that they are not used for political violence.

He said, “I find that too often as politicians, we factionalise and put ourselves in enclaves to enhance our personal interests. As we build up to the governorship elections in Kogi, Bayelsa and Imo State, I wish to appeal to all political actors, let us empower the voices of our younger generation, they should not be pawns to be used in political games, rather they are the life blood of our future. They should play active roles in shaping the society and not be used as drug-induced thugs for mayhem and violence.”

Earlier, the host who is the Managing Director of Freedom Online, Gabriel Akinadewo, said the purpose of the lecture is to brainstorm on what Nigerians want between now and 2027 when another presidential election will be conducted.

He said: “This democratic journey started in 1999 and 24 years later, can we rightly say Nigerians are satisfied with the state of affairs today? In essence, what should elected leaders do to earn the trust of Nigerians? When do we draw a line between politics and governance? Expectations of Nigerians between now and 2027 are very clear and simple. We cannot be doing same thing over and over again and expect a different result. If centralisation of governance is a product of the military because of its chain of command, the military has been out of governance since 1999. So, what is stopping the civilian authority from decentralising governance?” he added. (Daily Sun)