Personal examples should define leaders, says SDP presidential candidate

Forum 1 year ago

Personal examples should define leaders, says SDP presidential candidate

Presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Adewole Adebayo, has challenged Nigerian voters on interrogation of aspirants on issues of corruption and security, stressing that personal examples should define the next crop of leaders.

He said tackling corruption and security should form basis for discourse in the elections, as those who come to equity must come with clean hands.

Presidential candidates must prove to be above aboard, Adebayo stressed. Insisting that leaders must lead by deeds, the SDP presidential candidate maintained that voters should properly x-ray those vying for election, especially the presidency to ensure that they are not corrupt or subscribe to corrupt practices.

He told journalists in Abuja that the upcoming elections present an opportunity for Nigerians to take actions to preserve the country and its democracy.

Adebayo said there are three dimensions to corruption, including simple theft, when you steal what does not belong to you, you take public property, adding: “The theft can be big or small, it is all part of corruption.

“Second, undermining systems, even if you are a person who doesn’t take money, if you undermine institutions, you manipulate judgment from courts, you manipulate recruitments not to recruit the best, you violate, like politicians who are campaigning now, when they say campaign has not come, they are corrupt, because they are manipulating the system, they don’t try to play fair.

“The third is nepotism, nepotism is a form of corruption and nepotism goes into fixing appointments for people that they don’t merit, using government preferment and appointments for political and other gains.”

He said presidential candidates should declare their assets and liabilities to help voters scrutinise their character, boasting that he remains the first flag-bearer to declare his assets and charged his fellow contestants to same, even as he disclosed that he had invited civil society organisations, especially SERAP (Socio Economic Rights and Accountability Project) to investigate entries in his declaration of assets.