President Buhari with King Charles. Photo:State House
President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the 2023 general elections in Nigeria, considering the turnout of voters and the generally peaceful atmosphere under which it took place.
The President, who stated this while addressing his colleagues at the Commonwealth Leaders Summit in London, noted that the country had learned lessons that would stimulate improvement of subsequent polls, including giving Diasporans the opportunity to vote.
“Lessons have been learnt and moving forward, we hope to perform even better. Based on this, I am delighted to note that we have taken another step towards deepening our democracy with peaceful, transparent and credible outcomes”.
”Though we are aware that challenges still exist, we are committed to working towards a greater participation of all Nigerians in the democratic process, including those in the diaspora”, he said.
President Buhari recognised the key role Nigerian youth played during the elections, as well as in support of national development, attributing a great part of their participation in the general elections to the assent of ‘Not Too Young To Run’ Bill signed into law by his administration in 2018.
He announced that Nigeria would also host the Commonwealth Youth and Students Summit for African Region, with the theme, ‘Making Change Happen’ in Abuja from May 9-11, this year.
The President used the opportunity to bid farewell to his colleagues, expressing joy at shared aspirations and values within the period of his tenure as President.
“As I come before you today, I am also mindful that this would be my last official engagement with His Majesty; the King and some of you as I leave office on 29 May 2023. I, therefore, feel both humble and grateful for this extraordinary and significantly important moment”, President Muhammadu Buhari said.
Reporting by Abdullah Bello; Editing by Fany Olumoye and Annabel Nwachukwu