The Interview Editors
President Muhammadu Buhari has declared that as a beneficiary of a free and fair election he would bequeath same to his successor and the nation in 2023.
According to the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, Buhari made this statement at a dinner with members of the legal team for the 2019 presidential election petition on Thursday in Abuja.
The President recounted that the turnout of Nigerians during his 2019 presidential campaigns to the 36 states of the Federation 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 to a successor in 2023, stressing that he was morally bound to fulfil that wish.
‘‘Morally I want to have a clear conscience. I swore by the Holy Book that I will 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.
