2023 General Elections: President Buhari urges Nigerians to resists’ politicians attempt to disrupt elections

Stanley Ihedigbo

President Muhammadu Buhari, has advised Nigerians to resist every attempt to be used by politicians to create unrest in any form to disrupt the elections.

Speaking in his 2023 New Year Message, President Buhari said Nigerians should go to the polls to exercise their right to vote and elect a new administration.

“All these electoral and democratic principles are working in concert because of the transcendent beliefs, beyond  partisan politics, of the great citizen of Nigeria. In addition is my personal commitment and executive promise to see to the letter that the 2023 elections being diligently conducted by INEC will be free and fair.

“The collective electoral will and votes of Nigerians will be fulfilled, even in the twilight moments of my watch. Reflecting on year 2022 allows us as a government to examine our legacies of successes and challenges. As we celebrate our wins and review obstacles, we all must understand that governance is a continuum, which still places a  transitional responsibility on this administration to provide for the incoming government a non-partisan and objective roadmap for 2023. We as Nigeria; one country united under the will of God and actively growing as an indivisible entity, have been enabled year after year, decade after decade, to weather all stormy waters and emerge stronger and better where others have fallen and disintegrated. This has made us a unique nation across the globe and our continent.

“It is an important year for our country to ensure that we have another smooth transition of government, to whoever the people have decided upon. This administration’s landmark Amended Electoral Act will ensure that we have free  and fair elections across the Nation.

“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. We must also resist every attempt to be used by politicians to create unrest in any form to disrupt the elections. We, as government will ensure such activities are met with the full force of the law.

“It is our collective responsibility to ensure that Nigeria remains safe and peaceful for us all. Therefore, we have a  duty and obligation to support our troops and intelligence agencies by being alert and reporting anything suspicious. The fight against insurgency in the North East region has continually recorded very clear wins in the past year. The Federal Government, and the Borno State government, has started the journey of returning internally displaced persons to their ancestral homes earlier taken by the insurgents.

“Also, over 82,000 insurgents with their families have surrendered to the Nigerian military. A number of  surrendered insurgents are currently being processed by the rehabilitation (Operation Safe Corridor) program. The fight against banditry, kidnapping and other crimes in the North West and other regions is gaining momentum and showing very clear results. One of which is the resumption of Train Service along the Kaduna to Abuja corridor,” he noted.

In the aftermath of the EndSars, the president noted that his administration took heed and instituted the ongoing Police Reform program based on a new Presidential Vision for Policing in Nigeria.

“This new vision is framed in a clear road map that transcends the tenure of this administration and it is predicated  on six principles. Which are, building trust and legitimacy, leadership, accountability and oversight?  Technology and digital media, community policing and crime reduction, officers training and education, as well as funding, officers’ welfare, wellness and safety.

“This reform program is very much in its foundational phase but has recorded noteworthy successes in improving  police welfare and their emoluments. Other gains have been the ongoing training of 500 police cadet trainers to enable a better training regimen for the 2022 first batch of the 10,000 new cadets with an additional 10,000 set for 2023. In support of these reforms has been the provisioning of new material for the Nigeria Police to steadily improve on its constitutional responsibility to enforce law and order, protect lives and property as well as street level peace and security.

“Despite the ongoing global economic crisis, we have been able to weather the storms. Inflation across the globe is at its highest, the Federal Government has been resolute through its economic interventions to remain above water  during this period. 2022 brought a combined impact from ongoing wars and aftereffects of COVID-19. Though creating its own fiscal challenges, we have continued to subsidize our energy costs to buffer households from inflationary pressure of high energy costs.  In 2023, we are focused on building on our GDP and sustain the huge surge in the non-oil GDP growth.

“The Nigerian Start up Bill has been passed as an Act. This is considered a huge step in lowering our unemployment  figures by boosting job creation and supporting the entrepreneurial drive of our youths. If you recall in my 2021 New Year speech, I had mentioned the need to secure the future of our youth recognizing that our young people are our most valuable natural resource, at home and abroad. In this regard, we worked with the legislature to develop an enabling law to turn their passions into ideas that can be supported, groomed and scaled across regions.  2023 will see the implementation of the Nigerian Start Up Act nationwide,” he stated.

He further said that they would work to solidify on delivering key strategic priorities under “SEA” –(Security, Economy and Anti-Corruption) Agenda.

“Some of the key priority areas we would direct our attention and strengths are, focus on security, for the economy, anti-corruption.  On the anti-corruption drive of our administration, we have created new records in this fight, growing from 117 convictions in  2017 to 3,615 convictions as at December 2022. We as a government are committed to ridding our nation of all forms of corruption, through the collaboration with all the arms of Government to effectively prosecute this fight,” he assured.