Buhari: Forget about extending my term; I’m leaving in 2023

President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday expressed tacit support for the country’s technology-driven electoral process, claiming that it leaves no room for tampering.

The President, who spoke in Makkah during a meeting with a select group of Saudi Arabia-based Nigerians, also warned those planning to campaign for an extension of his tenure to stop, saying he had sworn to God that he would not stay past May 29, 2023.

Furthermore, the Presidential Spokesman, Femi Adesina, has refuted reports that the plane on which President Muhammadu Buhari recently flew to the United States developed a fault in mid-flight.

Adesina described the reports published on some online platforms as an example of fake news, which has become a major vice and threat to the country’s information dissemination.

When asked about his confidence in the effectiveness of technology in the electoral process, President Buhari recalled that his presidential victory droughts ended after three outings when technology was eventually involved.

After being denied victory in three previous elections, he claimed that the introduction of the card reader and electronic register was God’s answer to his prayers.

“After the third so-called defeat,” he explained, “I said to God, dey dey dey dey dey dey dey dey dey dey dey (there is God). My opponents mocked me, but God answered my prayers by bringing technology into the picture. Nobody can steal or buy their votes at that point.”

President Buhari assured Nigerians in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, that he would not violate his oath to the holy Qur’an by which he had sworn to only serve the terms permitted by the 1999 Constitution.

“By the Holy Qur’an, I swore that I would serve in accordance with the constitution and leave when my time was up.” There will be no’Tazarce’ (tenure extension). I don’t want anyone discussing or campaigning for unconstitutional extension. That is not acceptable to me.”

President Buhari, who concluded his visit to the Kingdom with Friday prayers at the Grand Mosque in Makkah, stated that he would continue to uphold the constitution in all of its ramifications and would supervise and deal with his ministers on the same basis at all times.

During the meeting, he promised that in the remaining “eighteen months or so of my time, whatever I can do to improve the lives of Nigerians, I will do it for the country.”

The President praised diaspora Nigerians in the Kingdom for representing the country well and projecting a positive image of the country.

He also used the occasion to urge Nigerians to be fair to his administration at all times, challenging his critics to compare the security situations in the Northeast and South-South in 2015 and how they have improved since then.

“My issue is the Northwest, where people are murdering and stealing from one another.” “I had to be very tough on them, and I will continue to be tough on them until we get them in line and restore order,” he said.

President Buhari urged Nigerians living in the country to respect the law, remain law-abiding, and do nothing to jeopardize the two countries’ many years of friendly and mutually beneficial relations.

Dr. Abdulkadir Maikudi, a community leader who spoke on behalf of the group, asked the President to help the privately run Nigerian International School in the Kingdom by equipping it to provide science and technical education.

The Nigerian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Yahaya Lawal, and the Consul-General in Jeddah, Ambassador Abdulkarim Mansur, both attested to the good behavior of the nearly 1.5 million Nigerians living in the country.

“Nigerian professionals are doing well and projecting a good image for our country,” they say.

Buhari was not involved in the air mishap, according to Adesina.

However, President Muhammadu Buhari’s spokesman, Femi Adesina, has refuted reports that the plane on which he recently traveled to the United States developed a fault mid-flight.

Adesina described the reports published on some online platforms as an example of fake news, which has become a major vice and threat to the country’s information dissemination.

“It didn’t happen,” Adesina said. I was a passenger on that flight. We took off from New York and flew straight to Santa Maria, Portugal, to refuel. We took to the skies and flew straight to Nigeria.

“Where is the blunder?” It’s a sham. It didn’t happen… Do you know how many people have been misled by this fake news?

“Fake news is a problem that affects the entire world, not just Nigeria.” Traditional media should be wary of fake news, because we need a country first before we can use digital media.

Read also: CBN assures users that e-Naira is safe and reliable

“We must not allow digital media to destroy our country.” “Digital media is good, but it contains evil.”

The presidential spokesman, who admitted to being a victim of fake news on numerous occasions, spoke yesterday in Abuja at the public presentation of a book, “101 Fake News on EndSARS,” a PRNigeria publication authored by journalist Dahiru Lawal.

Adesina expressed disappointment that members of the Yoruba group, Afenifere, were misled by fake news about his recent comparison of Buhari to some past political leaders, citing instances where his views were misrepresented by purveyors of fake news.

He advised traditional media and professional journalists to be more cautious, as digital media appears to be dictating the pace, while traditional media is now reliant on them.

Adesina, who noted that fake news played a role in the EndSARS protest and the massive destruction witnessed, predicted that the problem would worsen as the 2023 general elections approached.

Dr. Umar Gwandu, media aide to Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami, also spoke, noting that fake news is always intended to cause harm.

Gwandu urged professional journalists not to let quacks take the lead and dictate the pace of information dissemination, as this would be detrimental to the country.