No nation can grow with election rigging- Obi

…Says it’s the worst form of vice in society

Tunde Opalana, Abuja

Vice Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 23 Presidential election, Mr. Peter Obi has decried the rigging recorded in the general elections, saying that no nation can grow when elected leaders come into office through crooked means.

Obi said that the process through which people come into office is far more important than what they do thereafter and that forms the basis of their integrity.

He asserted that election rigging is the worst form of vices and indeed, the root of corruption as it goes to impact negatively on the political and economic growth of the country.

According to a press statement from his media office, Obi noted that the fraud that characterized this year’s election has greatly undermined the country’s democracy, its future and has significantly damaged the ongoing fight against all vices and tainted the integrity of those responsible.

He said that Nigeria cannot quantify the enormity of damage the electoral fraud has done to the psyche of the country, describing such negative acts like “election manipulation as the real reason why this country is not growing and has been unable to tackle the existing myriads of problems like unemployment and its attendant vices.

“The only thing rigging does to a country is that it continues to keep incompetent people in office and as a result rather than put energy in creating jobs to engage its teeming youths, it instead channels it trying to contain all sorts of vices and brigandage.”

He also lamented the further effects of election rigging which encourages incompetent people to hang onto office and cause more harm to the society.

Obi remarked that his main concern and worry is how to create jobs and engage millions of Nigerian youth roaming the streets doing nothing at their prime productive ages.