President Muhammadu Buhari, explained how he curbed vote-buying in the February 25 and March 18 elections.
Buhari narrated how he told the electorate to collect money from candidates that offered money to them to buy their votes but vote according to their conscience.
The president expressed satisfaction with the remarkable passion towards democracy exhibited by Nigerians through the choices they made in the presidential, National Assembly, and the subsequent governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections.
He said Nigeria’s democracy had truly matured and Nigerians had proved to be capable of deciding who led them without anyone telling them what to do.
In a statement, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, quoted Buhari as saying: “People are realising their power. Given the chance of a free and fair vote, nobody can tell them what to do. I am unhappy that some candidates lost in the election.
“But I am inspired by the fact that voters were able to make their own decision, to decide who won and who lost. With the currency change, there was no money to spread around but even then, I told voters to take the money and vote according to their consciences.”
Speaking at a farewell meeting with the outgoing United States Ambassador, Mary Beth Leonard, at the State House in Abuja, Buhari said he was completely satisfied with his role in the election process.
The president commended the outgoing ambassador for the enormous achievements recorded in Nigeria-US relations in the three-and-half years she had been here.
In an answer to a question posed by Ambassador Leonard, President Buhari said he planned to be a “big landlord” back at home, working on his farms and tending his more than 300 animals, adding: “I am eager to go.”