President Muhammadu Buhari, on Tuesday, vowed to do everything within his powers to secure future elections in the country inspite of the recent attacks on the offices and facilities of the Independent National Electoral Commission in some parts of the country.
Buhari stated this after he received briefing from INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, on series of attacks on INEC facilities.
The President, who assured that his administration would invest more in empowering INEC to ensure no election fails, stressed he would not want to give his traducers the impression that he’s plotting to seek a third term in office.
A statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, quoted the President as saying he would ensure INEC is able to carry out its duties “so that no one would say we don’t want to go, or that we want a third term. There will be no excuse for failure. We’ll meet all INEC’s demands”.
Buhari also gave stern warning to those bent on destroying the country by promoting insurrection and burning down critical national assets that a rude shock awaits them in a short while.
The President said, “I receive daily security reports on the attacks, and it is very clear that those behind them want this administration to fail.
“Insecurity in Nigeria is now mentioned all over the world. All the people who want power, whoever they are, you wonder what they really want. Whoever wants the destruction of the system will soon have the shock of their lives. We’ve given them enough time.”
He recalled that he visited all the 36 states of the country before the 2019 election, “and majority of the people believed me, and the election proved it.”
Buhari promised to continue to lead the country in accordance with Constitutional provisions.
He said those misbehaving in certain parts of the country were obviously too young to know the travails and loss of lives that attended the Civil War.
“Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand. We are going to be very hard sooner than later,” the President said.
He said the Service Chiefs and the Inspector General of Police have been changed, “and we will demand security from them.”
During his briefing, Yakubu said that so far, there have been 42 cases of attacks on INEC offices nationwide since the 2019 general elections.
He said, “The 42 incidents so far occurred in 14 states of the Federation for a variety of reasons….Most of the attacks happened in the last seven months, and they are unrelated to protest against previous elections.
“From the pattern and frequency of the most recent attacks, they appear to be targeted at future elections. The intention is to incapacitate the Commission, undermine the nation’s democracy and precipitate a national crisis.”