President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday gave assurance to the incumbent, President Goodluck Jonathan, that he would do him no harm when he (Buhari) assumes office next month.
He described President Jonathan as a great man even though they may not agree on method of governance.
Buhari also pledged that his political party, the All Progressives Party (APC), would not be a ruling party “but a governing party that will faithfully serve and not rule over the people as if they were subservient to government.”
Buhari stated this yesterday when he received his certificate of return as winner of the just concluded presidential election, from the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, in Abuja.
Assuring Jonathan that the respect due to the office of the president would be extended to him, Buhari said: “I have no ill-will against President Jonathan. Let me state clearly that President Jonathan has nothing to fear from me. “Although we may not agree on the method of governing our nation, he is a great Nigerian and he’s still our president. He deserves our support and respect by virtue of the office he has held. This is how an honourable nation treats its servants and conducts its affairs, and this is how Nigeria should be.”
The president-elect noted that the challenge ahead is very demanding and called on Nigerians to do their part towards charting a better Nigeria.
He further pledged that he would not be biased in steering the ship of state, whether in terms of tribe or creed, adding that he would do his best to solve the nation’s problems.
“There shall be no bias on any Nigeria based on ethnicity religion, gender or section or region,” he said.
Buhari added that, under his administration, Nigerians will be able to go to bed knowing that “you are safe and that your constitutional rights are in safe hands. You shall express your opinion without fear or favour or victimisation.”
‘We’ll tackle Boko Haram’
Buhari asserted that his administration would seriously tackle the Boko Haram challenge.
While admitting that the Boko Haram scourge was a challenging one, he said the terror group would soon be put in its place.
“Our unity has suffered greatly and the staying power has been tested to its limit by crises, chief amongst which is the insurgency of Boko Haram.
“There is no doubt that in tackling the insurgency, we have tough and urgent job to do. I assure you that Boko Haram will soon know the strength of our collective will and commitment to bring back peace and normalcy to all the affected areas. We shall spare no efforts until we deal with terror,” he said.
‘We’ll not tolerate corruption’
President-elect Buhari reiterated his position throughout his campaigns that his administration would not condone corruption, which he considers a worse evil than Boko Haram.
He said: “We shall strongly battle another form of evil that is even worse than terrorism—the evil of corruption. Corruption attacks and seeks to destroy our national institutions and character. By misdirecting into selfish hands funds intended for the public purpose, corruption distorts the economy and worsens income inequality. It creates a class of unjustly-enriched people.
“Such an illegal -yet powerful – force soon comes to undermine democracy because its conspirators have amassed so much money that they believe they can buy government. We shall end this threat to our economic development and democratic survival. I repeat that corruption will not be tolerated by this administration; and it shall no longer be allowed to stand as if it is a respected monument in this nation.”
He called for support from all Nigerians in resolving these challenges and admitted that mistakes will be made, but they shall be honest ones and not ones emanating from ‘wilful neglect and indifference’.
“We shall correct that which does not work and improve that which does. We shall not stop, stand or idle away. We shall, if necessary, crawl, walk and run to do the job you have elected us to do.”
He also warned the citizens to moderate their high expectations, but asserted that his administration shall remain committed in serving them.
“I realise that the expectation of our people today is as high as their commitment to change has been strong and their belief in us is unshaken. While we pledge to begin doing our best without delay, we would like to appeal to them to appreciate the gravity of our situation, so that we become more realistic in our expectations. We will govern for you and in your interests. Your vote was not wasted.”
He hinted that it was not be the first time the people would be electing him president but that he had been rigged out in the past.
“This is not the first time Nigerians have cast their votes for us, but this is the first time that the votes have been allowed to count. With the help of God, we pledge to do our utmost to bring forth the Nigeria you seek.”
He made a further pledge to be the people’s president.
“I shall work for those who voted for me, those who voted against me and those who do not at all. We all live under one name, as one nation, we are all Nigerians.”
He expressed gratitude to the APC national party leaders as well as world leaders like Barrack Obama and the EU for their support to Nigeria.
He said the differences of the recent past, especially in the campaigns, should be put behind and while people look forward.
I am a converted democrat – Buhari
The president-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, has described himself as a converted democrat after seizing power as a military head of state in the country 32 years ago.
Buhari made this statement during his first exclusive interview since his election with the CNN network.
When reminded that he came to power through a military coup, banned political meetings, restricted press freedom and set up secret tribunals, executing people for crimes that were not capital crimes when he was the head of state in the 80s, he replied that his regime did them under a military dispensation but that he had since reformed into a democrat.
Buhari said: “The only thing you haven’t said is that I did all those things you allege under military administration and, since then, I am a converted democrat and I attempted to attain this office three times and third times I ended in the highest court, in the Supreme Court.
“And the allegations that people were executed for offences that are not death sentence, I think you are wrong. When we came into power in December 1983, we decided to use death sentence on traffickers. So we made the law before people were prosecuted.’’
He also pledged that his administration would give full attention to restoring security and ‘’face Boko Haram insurgency squarely,’’ noting that Nigerian had enough troops to rout the insurgents.
He, however, declared that the security agencies had initially been inhibited by corruption in their fight against Boko Haram.
‘’The Nigerian soldiers, acting outside of ethical expectations, were giving interviews to foreign journalists; they were being sent to face the terrorists but lacked of adequate weapons, training and leadership.
‘’I know the National Assembly attempted to carry out a hearing to know how much was budgeted for weapons and training in the last three and four years and they wanted to invite the Service Chiefs and the Chief of Defence Staff but that hearing was cancelled by the administration. So the performance of the military was affected by corruption in the system,” the incoming president said.
On how he will tackle economic challenges, the inequality in the country and diversifying the economy on over dependent on oil, he said he would reintroduce the culture of accountability in every sector of the economy.
“The laws are there; the problem is that the laws are being ignored and the aura of corruption is being developed, and they have to be addressed immediately. People must be held accountable for public funds and property.
“I assure you that if we can successfully block that hole on corruption, those would be the resources that will be utilized to improve infrastructure and then work hard to invest in agriculture and mining and provide jobs for everyone unemployed before resource made can go for other social developments in the country.”
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