President Muhammadu Buhari says he will handover quietly to whoever will succeed him in 2023 when he must have completed his second tenure.
President Buhari explained that he was a beneficiary of a free and fair election in the country and would leave that to his successor.
The president disclosed this at a dinner with members of the legal team for the 2019 presidential election petition on in Abuja.
According to the statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, ‘‘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 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.”
The president commended the legal team led by Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN for the outstanding legal successes recorded in the presidential election petition. He praised the team for the effective legal strategy that thrived in piloting his election litigation.
He said: ‘‘You creditably demonstrated a deep understanding of the law and its practices and I am indeed proud of you all.
‘‘I am confident that by securing a convincing and unanimous legal victory at the Supreme Court you have by so doing ensured that the political mandate of the Nigerian electorate is now firmly secured.”
The president added that the legal team’s enormous contributions have affirmed the rule of law and further entrenched democratic governance in Nigeria.
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