2023 Polls: INEC Has No Reason To Fail – Buhari Says

• Insists Electoral umpire has adequate resources to hold free, credible elections

BY EDMOND ODOK – With a little over two months to the next general elections slated for February 25, 2023, President Muhammadu Buhari has assured Nigerians that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is adequately positioned with all the necessary resources to conduct free, fair, and credible elections.

For the President,  INEC is ready “because I made sure they were given all the resources they asked because I don’t want any excuses that they were denied funds by the government.”

He made the submission while responding to a question on INEC’s readiness to conduct the 2023 elections at an interactive session entitled, “A conversation with President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria”.

The forum was jointly hosted by the United State Institute of Peace (USIP), the International Republican Institute (IRI), the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems IFES).

Further expressing his administration’s commitment to ensure the national elections are free, fair, and transparent such that all contestants would be willing and ready to largely accept the outcome, the President said; “Since 2015, the conduct of our elections continues to steadily improve.”

According to him; “From the 2019 general elections, the by-elections and the off-season elections in Edo, Ekiti, Anambra, and Osun States were conducted in largely improved contexts to the satisfaction of contestants and voters.

“That is what we hope for in 2023. Through the observatory roles of the International Community, the credibility of the elections can be further enhanced to make the acceptability of the outcome to the contestants and political parties a non-issue”.

Also addressing issues around democracy in the West African sub-region, the President reiterated Nigeria’s determination to “aggressively work together” with other nations to improve the quality of governance in the sub-region, given that the survival of democracy, is currently challenged in most countries.

He said efforts in this direction would prove fruitful through targeted investments that can enhance dividends of democracy and create robust means of livelihood for the people while also promoting accountability and transparency by the political class.

Stressing the need for synergy at all levels of governance and civil society engagement, President Buhari said; “I call on all of you here present, to continue to partner with us and our electoral body, for the needed collaborative efforts which are critical to deepening and stabilizing democracy in Nigeria and the rest of Africa.

“The recent reversals witnessed in Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea are most unfortunate indeed and ECOWAS continues to effectively remain engaged with these countries in order to restore democracy to all the Member-States of ECOWAS as indeed the entire African Continent.”

The President, who appreciated former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Ambassador Johnnie Carson, and his team for inviting him to the Institute after the last visit in 2015, said; “Our efforts are driven by our Terrorism Prevention Act 2022, the National Counter Terrorism Strategy as well as the Policy Framework and National Action Plan on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (PCVE)”.

“I am, therefore, exceptionally pleased today, that this stage which served as my opening act has once more presented itself as the curtains are almost being drawn, for the opportunity to share experiences and discuss the last seven and half years.

‘‘When I met you in 2015, I was not unaware of the enormous domestic and international goodwill that I attracted. Although I am a converted democrat, and not your run-of-the-mill politician and therefore, less inclined to engage in double-talks”, President Buhari said while recounting his outing shortly after assuming office on May 29, 2015.

“My Advisers may not be happy with me in this regard. I am, however, measured in speaking but always certain that the truth I shall speak and this has huge consequences in a political space wherein this is an exception rather than the norm”, he said.