TheCable

Christopher Imumolen, presidential candidate of Accord Party, has applauded President Muhammadu Buhari for his decision not to interfere in the 2023 general election.

Buhari, while hosting some All Progressives Congress (APC) state governors on Tuesday, had said he would not allow any politician to use “personal resources or their influence” to intimidate Nigerians in 2023.

Reacting to this on Saturday, Imumolen said the stance of the president on neutrality would boost the confidence of the voters and candidates.

“I really want to appreciate our command-in-chief, President Muhammadu Buhari, for stating that he’d be neutral in next year’s general elections,” he said.

“What makes his position on non-interference in the elections most remarkable is the fact that he is an interested party.

“The APC would be presenting a candidate in the elections, and if past antecedent is the yardstick, then we would all naturally believe he’d do anything, including using the security forces and the electoral umpire, to sway the results of the elections his way.

“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 do a lot to clear those fears.

“Our people, assured that their collective wishes would be respected, will now be confident to throng the 176,000 polling booths all across the country on election day to cast their votes.”

Imumolen also called on the president to complement his stance on neutrality with adequate support to the security personnel that would be deployed across the voting centres.

“I hope we can trust the president on this. If he indeed honours his words to steer clear of interfering in the elections and allows the best man win, then he will go down in history as the man who really brought about transparent elections in Nigeria,” he said.

“What a legacy that would be? When his story would be told to future generations, he shall be known as a champion of democracy despite initially coming from a military background. I know he will not disappoint though.”