The presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the 2023 election, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has described the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the headquarters of fraud in the country.
He made the remarks during an interaction with a cross-section of Nigerians in the online interactive forum HaveYourSay247, moderated by Rudolf Okonkwo.
Mr. Adebayo recalled how he warned stakeholders about the insincerity of the electoral umpire 18 months before the February 25 presidential election. He explained that during a colloquium at the Rockview Hotel, Abuja, on October 1, 2021, he warned the organisers, which included Pat Utomi and Attahiru Jega, that INEC was just fooling everyone with its promise to transmit results electronically.
The legal practitioner questioned how anyone could trust INEC to conduct a credible election when one can’t go to them “to register a political party or file reports or invite them to party conventions” without inducing them with money.
“INEC is the headquarters of fraud,” he declared.
Commenting on his campaigns during the election, Prince Adewole said he went to the nooks and crannies of the country and that even great Nigerians like Obafemi Awolowo and Nnamdi Azikiwe, at the height of their popularity did not succeed in becoming president.
“The world hasn’t had more than nine people like Zik, yet he couldn’t win election to become president of Nigeria,” he argued.
Speaking further on why he didn’t challenge the outcome of the presidential election in court, the SDP candidate said that it would have been a waste of time as not every wrong can be remedied by a court.
“The court is not a place you go and complain in general terms,” Prince Adebayo argued. “99% of wrongs in society cannot be remedied by the court. When you approach the court, you have to narrow your complaints down to specific legal issues. This is something that election petitioners must understand.”
