Again, Buhari pledges to bequeath credible polls in 2023

President Muhammadu Buhari has, for the umpteenth time, declared that as a beneficiary of a free and fair election, he would bequeath same to the nation in 2023. 

The President spoke at a dinner with members of his legal team for the 2019 presidential election petition on Thursday in Abuja.

The President recounted that the turnout of Nigerians during his presidential campaigns to the 36 states of the federation in 2019 convinced him that his re-election was not a fluke.

“The number of people that turned out in every state across the country was more than anybody can buy or force. This gave me so much confidence and the election proved that with the votes I got. That is why I insist that elections must be free and fair because I am a clear successor to a free and fair election,” he said.

The President told the legal team that he was already looking forward to a peaceful hand over in 2023, stressing that he was morally bound to fulfill that wish.

“Morally I want to have a clear conscience. I swore by the Holy Book that I would abide by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I will continue to do my best and I hope that by 2023, I can handover quietly to whoever succeeds me and I wish him the best of luck,” he said.  

Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in a statement yesterday, said the President commended the legal team led by Chief Wole Olanipekun for the outstanding legal successes recorded in the presidential election petition.

He praised the team for the effective legal strategy they deployed in piloting his election litigation.

“You creditably demonstrated a deep understanding of the law and its practices and I am indeed proud of you all. I am confident that by securing a convincing and unanimous legal victory at the Supreme Court, you have by so doing ensured that the political mandate of the Nigerian electorate is now firmly secured,” he said.

The President added that the legal team’s enormous contributions have affirmed the rule of law and further entrenched democratic governance in Nigeria.