Do not vote along party structures, warns the group of Nigerians

The executive director of Godspeed Leadership and Mentorship Development Initiative, Habila Kayit, has asked voters in the country not to consider party structures when they go to vote in February’s general election.

Habila made the charge in a press statement he personally signed and delivered to The PUNCH in Kaduna State on Tuesday.

He said Nigerians should deliberately look at the pedigree and antecedents of choosing leaders they would vote for, for the betterment of the country.

“The era of voting for candidates based on their political party is over. Citizens should try to hear from any candidate seeking political office other than the top-to-bottom syndrome.

“Some of the primaries held by political parties were skewed in favor of moneybags and godfather anointed candidates against highly qualified and acceptable aspirants,” Habila denounced.

He explained that accepting to vote along party lines indicated that citizens had signed on to endure another four years of bad governance.

He noted that Nigerians must accept the fact that citizenship carries with it privileges, duties and responsibilities, adding that the main stakeholders in any election have been the people.

“Nigerians must exercise their suffrage by voting for candidates with clear strategies to give the country back to the people. Therefore, citizens must reject any kind of enticement to cause security breaches, but must be determined to support all electoral stakeholders to conduct safe elections without any problems,” he said.

According to him, starting from the people of Nigeria, those who determine the future of the country were only a small minority who understood the weaknesses of the people regarding politics and governance and the inability to remain united in demanding a better system .

“However, there is hope for the future as we experience a change of mindset through the quest to get the voter card registered, the collection of the voter card, political education and improving the electoral system, among others.

“Citizens should not keep their voter card just for identification and account upgrade, let’s use it to make a historic statement and save our nation from corrupt and bad leadership,” he added.