By Ikechukwu Okaforadi
Accord Party (AP) presidential candidate, Prof Christopher Imumolen has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his decision not to interfere in the 2023 elections.
The President had informed All Progressives Congress (APC) governors in Abuja that he would respect the wishes of the people by staying neutral.
Imumolen said the stance represents the biggest victory witnessed in the electoral process in over two decades of the country’s return to democratic rule.
The flagbearer noted that such neutrality would boost the confidence of both the contestants and voting public.
He called it a “major milestone” which negates the stereotype of incumbents using the instrumentality of state power to influence outcomes of elections.
“I really want to thank our commander-in-chief, President Muhammadu Buhari for stating that he would be neutral.
“What makes his position on non-interference most remarkable is the fact that he is an interested party; the APC would be presenting a candidate.
“If past antecedents are the yardstick, we would all naturally believe he would do anything, including using the security forces and the electoral umpire to sway the results.
“For this, I salute him. Now, Nigerians can be fully assured that their votes will count and all the negative practices of the past will not happen this time.
“Our biggest fear before now has been that the elections will be rigged to favour the party in power. But the president’s recent statement will clear those fears.
“Our people, assured that their collective wishes would be respected, will now be confident to throng the 176,000 polling booths across the country on election day to cast their votes,” he added.
Imumolen advised Buhari to provide adequate support to the security personnel that would be deployed to voting centres on election days.
“If he honours his words and allows the best man to win, then he will go down in history as the man who really brought about transparent elections in Nigeria.”
