My election as President will stop recycling ‘uneducated’ leaders ― Olawepo-Hashim

FRONTLINE politician and presidential candidate of the Alliance for Peoples Trust in the 2019 election, Mr Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, said on Sunday that his election as president would end the long history of recycling of ‘uneducated’ leaders in Nigeria.

Olawepo-Hashim, who stated this during an interactive session with newsmen, said that his candidacy would rescue Nigeria from the politics and practice of recycling leaders.

The candidate of the Third Force said: “While recycling of waste products might be good for the environment, it is bad for governance.”

According to him, the world has come to appreciate the importance of recycling refuse and waste products, but cannot accommodate the practice of recycling “fading personalities” as potential rescuers.

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He said: “What we need now is a new generation of leaders. We no longer need the cabal anymore. We cannot accept a situation where we accommodate multiple pension-receiving individuals. I mean those who have been living on government expenses in ages. It is good to retire these people and the time to do that is now.”

 He lamented that while the nation has continued to sustain the recycled politicians and their families at huge cost, the ordinary people have continued to struggle.

“It is time to retire these people. It is time to retire them from politics and then drive Nigeria on the new part of creativity. My mission is to stop political recycling and we shall achieve this, by the Grace of God.

“The nation certainly needs fresh ideas on how to develop the economy, unite and secure the country, which the political elites recycling themselves in power have not been able to offer. 2019 must be the breaking point from the legacy of poverty and misery which politicians represent,” he stated.

Olawepo-Hashim, who cut his political teeth as a student Union activists were first elected the National Deputy Publicity Secretary of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at its inception, He left the party in 2006 to start a new life in the Business world, where he emerged the Chairman of a number of Blue Chip organisations in areas including oil and gas, power, communications and marketing.

Besides emerging the candidate of a consortium of political parties under the leadership of Dr Olisa Agbakoba-led Peoples Trust, Olawepo-Hashim was earlier in the year shortlisted among the four presidential hopefuls of the Middle-Belt Forum, which spans the 14 states of the Middle Belt.

Olawepo-Hashim, alongside Dr Obadiah Mailafia, are the only surviving aspirants of the four who have emerged candidates of their parties.