President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday, 1st October 2019, dissipated claims of working towards a third term in office in a statement released by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu. The statement, which described the President as a democrat, also explained that under no circumstance would he alter the Constitution to aid him pursue a third term in office. President Buhari described the speculations as “internet-based gossip and uninformed media commentary” propagated by support groups, encouraging him to seek a third term in office.
The main opposition party in the country, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) reacted to claims of President Buhari’s third term agenda through a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, on Wednesday, 3rd October 2019, in which it described the alleged plot as a dangerous underhand politics capable of derailing Nigeria’s democracy. The party disparaged the statements issued by the Presidency and the All Progressives Congress (APC), stating that: “It is preposterous for the Presidency cabal and the APC to think that Nigerians cannot see through their shenanigan to import and elevate what they labeled as rumour and internet-based gossip, into official national discourse”. The PDP asked President Buhari to speak out and call his supporters to order.