President Muhammadu Buhari, while receiving the Chairman and National Commissioners of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at the State House on Tuesday, 7th January 2020, pledged that he would bequeath free and fair elections, that meet with world best practices, to the country as part of his legacy. According to him, “Those that you declare as winners must be the candidates that the people have chosen. Democracy is about free will and the will of the people must be allowed to prevail.”. He further stated that elections must be done in a violence-free atmosphere, adding that, “the process must be free, fair, decent and devoid of intimidation or malpractices. It is the duty of the Police to accomplish that, and it is what I expect in the elections immediately ahead and going forward”. Buhari’s second term in office is expected to end in May 2023 and he is constitutionally barred from seeking re-election. While a few Nigerians are looking towards to Buhari fulfilling his pledge, several others are questioning how he intends to fulfil this pledge in the light of apparent government actions that seem to contradict his pledge. In January 2019, President Buhari acted unconstitutionally in removing former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen from office. Observers raised huge alarm that this action was to prepare grounds for further interference in judicial independence ahead of the 2019 elections. Buhari’s failure to assent to the 2018 Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill passed by the National Assembly, as well as the unprecedented deployment of the military in the 2019 elections has raised great concern about the deterioration of the quality of Nigeria’s elections.
For Buhari’s pledge on sanctity of elections to be taken seriously, observers believe that he must take concrete actions to match his rhetoric.