Reactions have come from different camps of other political parties concerning President Muhammadu Buhari’s pledge to hand over to any party that wins in the 2023 general election.
OsunDaily News reports that while most political parties have expressed optimism at the president’s promise and emphasis to ensure a free, fair, and transparent election next year, others have said he is not to be trusted.
Reactions from some political parties follow President Buhari’s promise that no election winner would be denied his mandate in 2023 if his party the All Progressives Congress (APC) loses at the polls.
He made the promise in Jos the Plateau state capital on Tuesday at the flag-off of the party’s presidential campaign.
The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, while reacting to the president’s promise told Punch that President Buhari could not be trusted with the 2023 elections.
Sowore submitted that “Buhari is never to be trusted. He’s done more than enough damage to the elections by encouraging rigging and participation in a rigged election in 2019.
“Yahaya Bello didn’t win his 2019 gubernatorial election, but Buhari authorized security agents to help him rig it. For me, I have no fears. I have a strong desire to ensure that the elections are free and fair, even though I know the ruling party does not.”
The chief spokesman for the Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council, Yunusa Tanko, told Punch that he is optimistic that the general election would be free and fair despite speculations about possible violence and vote buying.
Tanko, who called on President Buhari to fulfill his promise noted that “Sometimes, words are cast in stone. For the Labour Party PCC, we will take it at face value and assume that he (Buhari) has good intentions. All we require of him is to match it with action when it happens.”
On his part, the spokesman for the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Major Agbo, maintained that the President had no other choice than to step down after the polls.
Agbo stated, “Former President Goodluck Jonathan already set a standard in 2015 that Buhari is condemned to follow.”
OsunDaily News also gathered that the spokesperson for the Atiku-Okowa Campaign Organisation, Charles Aniagwu, also told Punch that the President would desire to leave a legacy of free and fair elections behind.
He said, “The President has made it very clear that he is going to give room for a good election, and so I don’t have doubt in that. To be the best of my knowledge, everything points to a desire to leave a legacy of free and fair elections, which brought him to power in the first place.”
