President Muhammadu Buhari has analysed the upcoming general election in Nigeria, which is scheduled for the first quarter of 2023 and has stated that his administration will conduct a credible poll that will be acceptable to all candidates.
The president made this commitment on Friday in Washington, DC, the United States capital, during an interactive session co-hosted by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), the International Republican Institute, the National Endowment for Democracy, and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems.
Despite Buhari’s assurance of credible elections in 2023, the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Mr Julius Abure, has lamented the killing, several assaults, and harassment of the party’s leaders, candidates, and members, saying there may never be trouble-free elections next year.
According to a statement issued yesterday by his spokesperson, Mallam Garba Shehu, Buhari reiterated his avowed determination to hold free, fair, and transparent national elections in 2023, the results of which would be widely accepted by the contestants.
He stated that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has no reason to be late for the elections next year and that no local government area in Nigeria is under Boko Haram control. He stated that election administration in Nigeria has improved since 2015.
“From the 2019 general election, 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,” Buhari said.
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Speaking on the readiness of INEC to conduct the 2023 elections, Buhari said 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.”
