President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has been provided with all the resources it asked for to conduct a free, fair and transparent election.
President Buhari made disclosure during an interactive session entitled, “A conversation with President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria’’, co-hosted by the United State Institute of Peace (USIP), the International Republican Institute, the National Endowment for Democracy, and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems.
He was responding to a question on the readiness of INEC to conduct the 2023 elections.
He said, “INEC is ready “because I made sure they were given all the resources they asked because I don’t want any excuses that they were denied funds by the government.”
On the 2023 elections, President Buhari reiterated his unflinching determination to ensure the conduct of free, fair and transparent national elections, whose outcome would be largely accepted to the contestants.
‘‘Since 2015, the conduct of our elections continues to steadily improve. From the 2019 general elections, the by-elections and the off-season elections in Edo, Ekiti, Anambra and Osun States were conducted in largely improved contexts to the satisfaction of contestants and voters.
‘‘That is what we hope for in 2023. Through the observatory roles of the International Community, the credibility of the elections can be further enhanced to make the acceptability of the outcome to the contestants and political parties a non-issue.’’