- ‘President not involved in air mishap’
President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday offered tacit support for technology-driven electoral process in the country, saying that it leaves no room for foul play.
The President, who spoke in Makkah during a meeting with a select group of Saudi Arabia-based Nigerians, also warned those who might be planning to campaign for extension of his tenure to desist, saying he had sworn to God that he would not stay beyond May 29, 2023.
Also, the Presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina has faulted reports that the aircraft on which President Muhammadu Buhari recently travelled to the United States developed fault mid-air.
Adesina described the reports published in some online platforms as an example of fake news that has become a major vice and threat to information dissemination in the country.
Speaking about his trust in the effectiveness of technology in an electoral process, President Buhari recalled that his victory droughts in presidential contests ended after three outings when technology was eventually involved.
He argued that the introduction of the card reader and electronic register was God’s answer to his prayers, having been robbed of victory in three previous elections.
He said: “After the third so-called defeat, I said God dey (there is God). My opponents laughed at me but God answered my prayers by bringing in technology. At that point, nobody can steal their votes or buy them.”
According to a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, President Buhari assured Nigerians that he would not violate his oath to the holy Qur’an by which he had sworn to only serve the terms permitted him by the 1999 Constitution.
“I swore by the Holy Qur’an that I would serve in accordance with the constitution and leave when my time is up. No ‘Tazarce’ (tenure extension). I don’t want anybody to start talking about and campaigning for unconstitutional extension. I will not accept that.”
President Buhari, who ended his visit to the Kingdom with the Friday prayers at the Grand Mosque in Makkah, said he would continue to abide by the constitution in all its ramifications and would at all times supervise and deal with his ministers on the same basis.
He gave assurances at the meeting that in the balance of “eighteen months or so of my time left, whatever I can do to improve the life of Nigerians, I will do it for the country.”
The President commended diaspora Nigerians in the Kingdom for representing the country well and projecting its good image.
He also used the opportunity to urge Nigerians to be fair to his administration at all times, asking his critics to compare the security situations in the Northeast and South-South in 2015 and how things have improved now.
“My problem is the Northwest where people are killing and stealing from one another. I had to be very hard on them and I will continue to be very hard until we put them in line and bring back order,” he said.
President Buhari urged Nigerians living in the country to respect the law, remain law-abiding and do nothing to derogate from the many years of friendly and mutually beneficial relationships between the two countries.
A leader of the community, Dr. Abdulkadir Maikudi, who spoke on behalf of the group, requested the President to assist 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 attested to the good conduct of the nearly 1.5 million Nigerians there.
According to them, “Nigerian professionals are doing well and projecting a good image for our country.”
Buhari not involved in air mishap – Adesina
However, the Presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina has faulted reports that the aircraft on which President Muhammadu Buhari recently travelled to the United States developed fault mid-air.
Adesina described the reports published in some online platforms as an example of fake news that has become a major vice and threat to information dissemination in the country.
Adesina said: “It didn’t happen. I was on that flight. We took off from New York, went straight to Santa Maria in Portugal where we refueled. We took off and flew straight to Nigeria.
“Where is the mishap? It is a lie. It never happened…Do you know the number of people that have been misled by this fake news?
“Fake news is a problem not only to Nigeria but to the whole world. The traditional media should be careful of fake news, because we must first have a country before digital media can be useful to us.
“We must not allow digital media to be used to destroy our country. Digital media is good, but there is evil embedded in it.”
The presidential spokesman, who said he had been a victim of fake news on many occasions, spoke in Abuja yesterday at the public presentation of a book, “101 fake news on EndSARS,” a publication of PRNigeria, authored by a journalist, Dahiru Lawal.
Adesina, who cited instances where his views were misrepresented by purveyors of fake news, expressed disappointment that members of the Yoruba group, Afenifere, allowed themselves to be misled by fake news about his recent comparison between Buhari and some past political leaders.
He advised that the traditional media and professional journalists must be more careful, because the digital media appear to be dictating the pace, while the traditional media now rely on them.
Adesina, who noted that fake news was instrumental to the EndSARS protest and the massive destruction witnessed, said the problem would be more pronounced as the 2023 general elections draw close.
Also speaking, Dr. Umar Gwandu, the media aide to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, noted that fake news is always intended to cause harm.
Gwandu urged professional journalists not to allow quacks to take the lead and dictate the pace of information dissemination, because doing so will be a disservice to the country.
