As preparations continue for the 2023 general elections, President Buhari says he is happy with the enthusiasm shown by politicians.
He says he is happy that candidates of the various political parties vying for positions at various levels are focusing on issues, as they solicit for the support of Nigerians.
The President made his feelings known in a nationwide broadcast to mark the 2022 Democracy Day.
He said: “The signs so far are positive. Recently, all registered political parties conducted primaries to select their candidates for the 2023 general elections.
“These primaries were peaceful and orderly. Those who won were magnanimous in their victories. Those who lost were gracious in defeat. And those aggrieved opted to seek judicial justice as opposed to jungle justice.
“I followed the party primaries closely from the state level to the Presidential level. I was very impressed to see across all the political parties that most candidates ran issued based campaigns. The language and tone throughout were on the whole measured and controlled.”
Positives
The President also expressed delight at the level of women and youth participation in the election.
“Another positive that came from the 2022 party primaries was the significant increase in women and youth particularly across all parties. I was very pleased to see this development. This augurs well for the future. These trends clearly show the level of maturity our democracy has achieved in the last 23 years,” he added.
The President therefore, enjoined candidates that have emerged from the primary elections to sustain the tempo as well as maintain rancour free campaigns.
“As we move into the general election campaign season, we must sustain this mature attitude to campaigning and ultimately, voting. We must never see it as a “do or die” affair. We must all remember democracy is about the will of the majority. There must be winners and losers.
“I will therefore take this opportunity on this very special day to ask all candidates to continue running issue focused campaigns and to treat opponents with dignity. As leaders, you must all showcase high character and never forget that the world is watching us and Africa looks up to Nigeria to provide an example in governance. The tone you set at the top will surely be replicated in your followers,” he advised.
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