According to President Muhammadu Buhari, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has no excuse to hold free, fair, and credible elections in 2023 because he has granted all of the electoral umpire’s requests.
The United States Institute of Peace (USIP), the International Republican Institute, the National Endowment for Democracy, and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems jointly hosted an interactive session titled “A conversation with President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria” during which the president made this disclosure.
He reaffirmed his faith in INEC’s electoral readiness for 2023.
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“INEC is ready because I made sure they were given all the resources they asked for because I don’t want any excuses that they were denied funds by the government,” Buhari said while responding to a question on the preparedness of the Commission.
‘‘Since 2015, the conduct of our elections continues to steadily improve. 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.’’
In the meantime, the president claimed on Friday in Washington, D.C., that the agricultural revolution in Nigeria had resulted in the creation of more than 13 million direct and indirect jobs during the previous 7.5 years.
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The leader of Nigeria cautioned western countries against rushing to phase out the use of fossil fuels in an effort to maintain a stable climate.
In addition, he said that Nigeria’s economy has grown well over the previous two quarters despite the bleak outlook for the world economy and the conflict in Ukraine.
Additionally, President Buhari urged the world media to be more impartial in its coverage of Nigeria and warned western countries against the careless issuing of travel recommendations on the country.
He informed the world that despite the casual acts and attitudes of some of its friends and supporters, Nigeria is winning the war on terrorism and making tremendous strides in addressing the dangers to the safety and existence of Nigeria and the sub-region.
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The leader of Nigeria urged the United States to do more to enhance the sub-region of West Africa’s governance, saying that the survival of democracy is in jeopardy in the wake of democratic losses in Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso.
Speaking about measures his administration has taken to strengthen Nigeria’s economy since taking office in 2015, the President claimed that targeted agricultural interventions spearheaded by the Central Bank of Nigeria have helped the nation move from being a net importer of rice, a staple food in Nigeria, to being self-sufficient in its production.
‘‘This same scheme has financed the establishment and operations of our fifty (50) integrated rice mills.
‘‘It has also financed over 4.5 million smallholder farmers, ensured the cultivation of almost 6 million hectares of farmland and almost 700 large-scale agricultural projects have been funded.
‘‘This Agricultural revolution has led to the creation of over 13m direct and indirect jobs,’’ he said.
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In addition, President Buhari said that Nigeria was better prepared to handle the systemic shock brought on by both COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war on global food supply chains and resulting price spikes thanks to the focus on the agricultural sector. He was speaking to the Washington, D.C. Community of global thought leaders and Democracy Advocacy Groups.
The country’s capacity in the agro-allied sector has increased, he continued, making it more effective at maximizing production yields and minimizing post-harvest losses.
‘‘The non-oil sector remains the future of our economy and I hope successive governments will consolidate on the gains we have recorded under my leadership.
‘‘You will agree with me that the Russia-Ukraine war has compelled many economies to carry out reforms and re-adjust policies to cope with the challenges posed by the conflict.
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‘‘In this regard, we are paying more attention now to energy transmission and distribution through targeted collaboration with global companies like Siemens to improve our efficiency in the Power Value Chain,’’ he said.
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