President Muhammadu Buhari says the conduct of the last elections was a prove that Nigeria has arrived politically.
Buhari spoke on Friday at the presentation of a book titled “A promise kept, a compendium of significant achievements of Muhammadu Buhari administration 2015-2023”.
The event was held at the council chambers of the presidential Villa in Abuja.
He said the All Progressives Congress (APC) has accomplished all its outlined goals, adding that the last elections were transparent as Nigerians voted for candidates of their choice.
He lauded the citizens for not being influenced by money during the elections, noting that his administration wanted to build a solid political culture in the country.
“I think I was expecting too much. When I was in Doha, meeting with some heads of states, I was getting calls from Europe, America and Nigeria, congratulating us on the success of elections,” he said.
“The opposition has created the impression outside the country that we are going into a mess because we have incompetent leadership of the party.
“They were overwhelmed that the elections came and went and both at the centre and at the states, fantastic.
“How can 10 sitting governors of states loss their constituencies, this has been unprecedented.
“So I congratulate you, the national working committee and others here, that we have really proved that democracy is worth defending.
“Nigerians have understood it now, otherwise how can they vote against their sitting governors stopping them from going to the senate to rest?
“So they were really overwhelmed and I congratulate our politically development. Please congratulate your constituencies, it means that even though you have excess money, they will collect and put in their pockets but they will elect the person they trust from any constituency, either house of assembly, house of representatives, senate until it comes to the president itself.
“Because, it was so transparent, everything was done there in front of everybody. And committee by committee from various constituencies lined up and picked the candidate they want.
“So really, we have virtually politically arrived. I congratulate our party.”
Source: Top Stories