Muhammadu Buhari, the president of Nigeria, has urged his compatriots to resist any attempts by politicians to undermine the country's approaching 2023 elections.
In his address to the country on the first day of the new year, the president also urged the populace to play a part in ensuring that the general elections in the next year be transparent, fair, and free.
“We must also resist every attempt to be used by politicians to create unrest in any form to disrupt the elections. We, as the government will ensure such activities are met with the full force of the law ,” the president said in a statement released by his media aide, Garba Shehu.
“We as Nigerians must also take responsibility to ensure we participate in ensuring that the 2023 elections are free and fair by not engaging in anti-state activities and other nefarious acts that may affect the run of the polls.”
“The collective electoral will and votes of Nigerians will be fulfilled, even in the twilight moments of my watch,” Buhari stated while reiterating his administration’s commitment to holding free and fair elections.
The Nigerian president claims that the signing of the Amended Electoral Act, which ensures fair elections, demonstrates his administration’s dedication to the country’s democratic ideals.
He said that the most populous country in Africa would have genuine leaders elected in 2023, making that year crucial.
“This year is particularly important to me because this message is, in essence, valedictory. After having the honour of serving you, my compatriots, for the last seven-plus years, my tenure as your president in the most revered tradition of our ongoing and maturing democracy must necessarily come to an end.
“In the next five months we would have gone to the polls and elected a new president along with new governors and a plethora of other elected officials at both the national and state levels,” the president said.