Joseph Bakare
The presidency has warned the Independent National Electoral Commission and all security agencies to be transparent and avoid interfering in the conduct of the 2019 elections.
Speaking at the inauguration of the Council, at the International conference center, Abuja, on Monday, president Muhammadu Buhari said the one legacy he would like to leave behind as Nigerian leader is a free, fair and credible election.
“Let me reiterate my commitment to free and fair elections. If there is one legacy I want to leave is the enthronement of democracy as a system of government. And for democracy to be enthroned, elections must be free and fair. That means citizens have a right to vote for candidates of their choice without intimidation in any form. I have warned INEC and security agencies to that effect. We will keep insisting that votes must count,” Buhari said.
The president who expressed satisfaction at the conduct of elections since 2015 said “free, fair and credible elections are the foundation of political stability and peace in any nation,” stressing that “we have insisted that votes must count and have maintained a policy of non-interference in elections”.
Speaking on the rules and responsibilities of members of the Council, Buhari said “to my mind, the division of responsibility is clear enough. The leadership that has formulated the campaign policy will supervise its execution; the Director-General will have overall responsibility for all aspects of the campaign, including field operations; while the Secretary will be responsible for all administrative and treasury-related activities of the council”.
The President added that, “though we will all be deeply involved, I would like to assure the nation that I will do my part without making governance or my work suffer. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, my co-chairman, will be fully in charge, and is going to be on 24-hour vigil”.
He urged “all those with any remaining reservations, to recommit themselves to the central task of our victory in the elections and to the greater goal of uplifting this nation towards its manifest destiny”.
Buhari said the “Presidential Campaign Council was constituted with a conscious determination to ensure inclusiveness and excellence, and is expected to conduct a campaign based on our modest achievements to turn around our beleaguered nation from insecurity, stagnation and massive abuse of scarce public resources”.
The said “a victory for us as a party is a victory for all well meaning Nigerians, who are committed to CHANGE from an inglorious past; where those in positions of public trust willfully took for themselves what belongs to us all; where the security of our citizens was second place to their acquisition of unwholesome wealth; where our economic growth was sacrificed for the fleeting ease of import dependency”.