Nigeria’s outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday defended his political record as well as the outcome of a disputed presidential election, one day before he hands over the reins of the country to the new head of state, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, reported Reuters.
President Buhari said he was leaving a legacy of credible and fair votes. He first came to power in 2015 with vows to reboot the economy and end corruption and insecurity, but many Nigerians say these issues have worsened under his presidential tenure.
Buhari said the February vote had helped entrench Nigeria’s democracy and that Tinubu, who was his ruling party’s presidential candidate, was the best candidate to emerge from the election.
“I am leaving behind an electoral process which guarantees that votes count, results are credible, elections are fair and transparent and the influence of money in politics reduced to the barest minimum,” Buhari said in his last televised address to the nation.
He said his government had made some difficult choices to reset the economy that resulted in temporary pain and suffering for the people. He apologized to the people of the country, saying that the measures were taken for the overall good of the country.
Nigeria’s election commission declared Tinubu the winner of the election after he garnered 37% of the votes. But the two main opposition candidates rejected the voting results.
The opposition continues to claim that the elections were marred with irregularities, including violence at the polls, and logistical and procedural shortcomings, including the inability to upload election results from polling units in real time.
Tinubu’s victory is being challenged by his two closest opposition rivals, and on Tuesday a tribunal will begin to hear the main arguments in the election petition on Tuesday.
Nigeria’s new president, Bola Tinubu, is set to be sworn in on Monday.
