Buhari accepts the intervention of W’African elders

At the State House in Abuja yesterday, President Muhammadu Buhari welcomed the West African Elders Forum Pre-Election Mediation Mission and reaffirmed that the general elections in 2023 will be free, fair, and credible.

Buhari congratulated the attendees in his address to the event, which was presided over by Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma, a former president of Sierra Leone.

The President notably referred to the off-season elections that were conducted in the states of Anambra, Ekiti, and Osun as evidence that the Federal Government will let people to pick the leaders they choose.

Buhari said, “That right is assured,” and added, “We are calming down and moving forward. Voters should cast their ballots for anybody they choose, in either party. We won’t let anybody to frighten the populace with force and cash. Nigerians are today more wise. They are smarter and understand that talking to one another is preferable than carrying firearms. Election rigging is becoming significantly more challenging.

Fatoumata Tambajang, a former vice president of The Gambia, Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas, a former special representative of the United Nations secretary general, and Ann Iyonu, the executive director of the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation, made up the team Koroma led. They met with representatives from various parties, civil society organizations, and the Independent National Electoral Commission, among others.

He praised Buhari for not giving in to pressure to run for a third term in office, which would have violated national law, saying that “other nations look up to Nigeria for guidance.”