Buhari to INEC: I’ve met your demands for elections preparation — I don’t want excuses

President Muhammadu Buhari says the Independent National Electoral Commission has no reason to be unprepared for the forthcoming elections.

INEC had recently said it recorded at least 52 cases of electoral violence across 22 states in one month in the country.

On Friday, Mahmood Yakubu, INEC’s chairman, said the conduct of the 2023 elections may be affected if the attacks on the commission’s offices persist.

He said the commission was making efforts to recover critical election materials destroyed including PVCs but would need help.

“Should such attacks continue at the pace at which they are happening at the moment, the commission may find it increasingly difficult to recover in good time for the election,” Yakubu had said.

“If it is about stopping the attacks, yes, we can recover. But if the attacks continue, it would be very difficult for the commission to recover.”

Speaking at an interactive session in the United States on the same day, Buhari said the electoral commission has no reason to be unprepared.

The president said he has fulfilled all the demands made by INEC, and as such, “excuses” would not be tolerated.

“INEC is ready because I made sure they were given all the resources they asked for because I don’t want any excuses that they were denied funds by the government,” he said.

‘‘Since 2015, the conduct of our elections continues to steadily improve. From the 2019 general elections, the by-elections and the off-season elections in Edo, Ekiti, Anambra and Osun States were conducted in largely improved contexts to the satisfaction of contestants and voters.

‘‘That is what we hope for in 2023. Through the observatory roles of the international community, the credibility of the elections can be further enhanced to make the acceptability of the outcome to the contestants and political parties a non-issue.’’