Buhari on how he reduced vote-buying.

President Muhammadu Buhari described yesterday how he advised voters to solicit donations from candidates who promised to pay for their votes in the elections on February 25 and March 18, but to cast their ballots in accordance with their moral convictions.

He added that Nigerians had demonstrated that they were capable of choosing who would lead them without having anyone tell them what to do, given the chance for a free and fair election and non-interference as witnessed in the polls.

The president said that Nigeria’s democracy had fully developed as a result of the amazing enthusiasm for democracy displayed by Nigerians in their voting decisions during the presidential, National Assembly, and following governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections.

Buhari was reported as saying in a statement by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu: “People are realizing their power. Nobody can tell people what to do if they have the opportunity to cast a free and fair vote. I find it disappointing that several candidates did not win.

“Yet, I find inspiration in the fact that voters had the freedom to choose who won and who lost. Even though there was no money to distribute as a result of the currency change, I nevertheless advised people to use the money and cast their ballots in accordance with their moral convictions.

The president expressed his entire satisfaction with his role in the electoral process during a farewell meeting with the departing American ambassador, Mary Beth Leonard, at the State House in Abuja.

He praised the departing ambassador for the significant advancements in US-Nigeria ties during her three and a half years in office.

President Buhari responded to a query from Ambassador Leonard by stating that he intended to be a “big landlord” back home, working on his fields and caring for his more than 300 livestock, and that he was “ready to leave.”

The American ambassador expressed her satisfaction with the development of US-Nigeria relations over the past three and a half years, highlighting the recent establishment of a five-year visa regime between the two nations, active cooperation in security and the provision of military hardware, such as warplanes and the soon-to-arrive fighter helicopters, as well as cooperation in the health sector to combat HIV and COVID response, and assuring that US will continue to support these efforts.

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Ambassador Leonard expressed her gratitude, together with that of the US government, for the President’s ongoing efforts to uphold regional stability and strengthen democracy as a form of governance, praising in particular his firm stance against the current upsurge of coups in West Africa.