As part of his message for democracy day 2022, President Muhammadu Buhari has challenged politicians to ensure there is a peaceful transition come next year to honour the late hero of democracy, MKO Abiola.
Ahead of the forthcoming general elections, he appealed to the electorate to ensure that Abiola’s sacrifices and that of other heroes of democracy were not allowed to go in vain.
“It is important for all of us to remember that June 12, 2023 will be exactly 30 years from the 1993 presidential elections,” President Buhari stated.
“In honour and memory of one of our national heroes of democracy, Chief M.K.O Abiola, GCFR, we must all work together to ensure this transition is done in a peaceful manner. I am hopeful that we can achieve this.”
According to the President, the signs so far are positive, especially with the primaries recently conducted by all registered political parties to select their candidates for the 2023 general elections.
He stated that the primaries were peaceful and orderly, saying those who won were magnanimous in their victories.
President Buhari added that while those who lost were gracious in defeat, the aggrieved ones opted to seek judicial justice as opposed to jungle justice.
Another positive that came from the party primaries, he said, was the significant increase in the rate of participation by women and youth across all parties.
The President who said he was very pleased to see the development believes it augurs well for the future and shows the level of maturity the nation’s democracy has achieved in the last 23 years.
“I followed the party primaries closely from the state level to the presidential level; I was very impressed to see across all the political parties that most candidates ran issue-based campaigns. The language and tone throughout were on the whole measured and controlled,” the President remarked.
“By June 12, 2023, exactly one year from today, you will already have a new President. I remain committed and determined to ensure that the new President is elected through a peaceful and transparent process.
