Ayoola, have you purchased your Peoples Democratic Party presidential nomination form? The simple answer to the question would be, No, I have not purchased the PDP presidential nomination form. I could not purchase it because the financial requirement is way above my social and financial capacity. Nevertheless, I am still in the race for the presidential election in 2023.
How? You may want to ask. Well, let us stay tuned for the long version of the answer in the remaining paragraphs below.
Concerned persons, who have been following me on this journey of my presidential aspiration, have been asking me lately, whether I have purchased the expression of interest and nomination forms of my party, the PDP. Many others who are conversant with the happenings in the party know better. They know that the sales of the forms had closed and that the party had also published the names of members of the party who had purchased the forms.
So, the question had been: Ayoola, are you still in the race?
Well, I have not kept many of my actions and struggles away from the public since I began making active moves. I have always reported my actions and shared my progress from time to time. The public is aware that I made a petition to the party leaders early in April, persuading them to remove what I perceived and alleged as illegal and immoral financial conditions set for aspirants, especially presidential aspirants.
Apparently, they would not be bothered about my petition. The party leaders I wrote to did not respond to my petition. I waited a whole month, I also pressed all the buttons I knew possible, just to be heard but all efforts proved abortive. Along the line, I also tried to see if I could raise the money but could not.
Apparently, I do not have friends that have N40 million they are not using, that they are willing to squander on a mere party nomination form. In short, it became apparent that my journey to the presidency would not be the usual. Thank God I am well prepared for a bumpy ride.
But my resolution to play an active part in how Nigeria is being governed is sacrosanct, in that we need to see Nigeria becoming a just and a prosperous nation. Meanwhile, in any position that I am in, I usually would ask myself a self-assessment kind of question: What is within my reach right now? Leaving aside what is out of reach at the moment, leaving aside what I do not understand yet, and of course, leaving aside the problems I may be facing.
So, answering the question led me to a point where I found the judiciary as my place of solace. I have found the judiciary as a place that is within my reach to seek redress and to make a valuable impact on my cause for making Nigeria better. Through the help of my brilliant lawyer, Oluwadamilare Awokoya, I have found a justifiable reason to seek redress in the courts.
While I am not at liberty to state the facts of the matter because it is already a subject of discussion in the court of law, I am happy to announce that we have made significant progress as our case was filed on Wednesday, May 4, 2022, at the Federal High Court, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. Knowing about the urgency of the matter, the judge assigned to the case had set Thursday, May 12, 2022, as the first date to hear the matter, while, according to the rules of the Federal High Courts, the defendants would have 30 days to respond and prepare their case before a formal hearing.
Meanwhile, the primaries of the party are scheduled for May 28-29, 2022. My hope is that the party leaders would tread softly and let reason prevail and provide for me the needed requirements to partake in the presidential primary.
Certainly, this is not the way I would have preferred this to go (or to end) but, sometimes, some of us would have to go the hard way so the next generation can have it easy. I am making that sacrifice today with the assurance that things will be better because of it.
Finally, to everyone that has supported me, one way or the other, I appreciate you a great deal. I am already in the process of writing an appreciation epistle. But worthy of mention in this writing is the help of the following individuals —Mr Aanu Olaitan, for redeeming his pledge towards this presidential aspiration; Mr Anwar Kelvin Irawo and Olofunmoye Temitope for their kind donations. I commend these people because, when others owned reasons to hold back, they found exceptional courage to give their tokens as a way of support. With so much financial burden that comes with this aspiration, I know to be appreciative of the favours I receive along the way. So, I say thank you to everyone that has helped me.
Our journey to create a society where justice and equity are in place is one that requires all our efforts and contributions. My prayer is that, in the age that our objectives become reality, we will be hale and hearty to enjoy the benefits.
Ayoola Falola is a presidential hopeful of the Peoples Democratic Party
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