President Muhammadu Buhari has stated his readiness to sign the Electoral Act Amendment Bill after the National Assembly makes the necessary adjustments.
He, however, said such changes must include the addition of consensus candidates, indirect primary options to the mode of selecting a candidate for an election, as against the initial direct mode as the only option to conduct primaries by political parties.
The President made the disclosure in an exclusive interview aired on Channels Television.
Asked if he would sign if the lawmakers effect the change in that direction, he affirmed, “Yes, I will! I will sign.
“There should be options, you can’t dictate to people and say you are doing democracy. Give them other options so they can make a choice.”
‘Why They Lost’
President Buhari had withheld his assent to the bill, citing the cost of conducting direct primary elections, security challenges, and possible manipulation of electoral processes by political actors as part of the reasons for his decision.
In their reaction, lawmakers in the House of Representatives could not immediately take an action but they said they would adequately address the matter in January.
During a plenary in December, Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, had explained that the time was short to address such a sensitive issue.
At the upper chamber, the Senate also resolved to consult with the House of Representatives in January when both chambers would be in session.
While the lawmakers have yet to resume from recess or deliberate on the bill, President Buhari said it was wrong to force an option on the people.
Stressing the importance of allowing people to choose from available options, he relived the events that led to his election into office and ended the 16 years rule of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015.
“Personally, I do not support direct primary because I want people to be given a choice,” the President stated. “You can’t give them one option and think that you are being democratic. Let them have three options – there is the consensus.
“PDP was so overconfident that they thought they would rule Nigeria till the end of time, but the opposition (parties) came together, and we overthrew them. Not as a result of direct primary, it is as a result of opposition parties coming together and fighting the PDP.
“It is because we agreed to come together. The fact that we came together gave us the success we had, and that was the mistake they made; that is why they lost.”
When asked if government will Nnamdi Kanu, Buhari ruled out the option of pardoning the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
Although he acknowledges the possibility of a political resolution, he believes the IPOB leader must answer for his actions over the years, especially while he was out of the country.
In November last year, President Buhari had promised to consider the request of some leaders from the South East region to release Kanu who is facing treason charges preferred against him by the Nigerian Government.
Although he told the Igbo leaders under the aegis of Highly Respected Igbo Greats that they had made an extremely difficult demand, he insisted that the best thing was to subject the IPOB leader to the judicial system.
The President doubted if Kanu was willing to return to the country to clear his name from the allegations against him after he fled in 2017.
“There is one institution that I wouldn’t dare interfere with – that is the judiciary,” he said. “Kanu’s case is with the judiciary, but what I wonder is when Kanu was safely in Europe abusing this administration and mentioning too many things, I never thought really he wants to voluntarily come and defend himself on the accusations.
“So, we are giving him an opportunity to defend himself in our system, not to be abusing us from Europe as if he was not a Nigerian. Let him come here to us and then criticise us here.”
Improved Security?
Apart from the trial of the IPOB leader, the President also spoke about a number of burning issues including security, economy, and politics, among others.
He began his interview with an assessment of his administration’s performance since he assumed office in 2015, especially in the three key areas of security, improving the economy, and fighting corruption.
“For Nigerians to be fair with this administration is to try and find out from the time we won the election in 2015 till now, in the three promises we made – improving security, improving the economy, and trying to fight corruption; securing the country in the North East, if you ask anybody from Borno State, from Yobe State, from Adamawa State, there are a number of local governments – about 18 – that were in the hands of Boko Haram, no local government now is strictly in the hands of Boko Haram or ISWAP. So, in that respect, we have done something,” President Buhari asserted.
“In the economy, don’t forget and I challenge so many people to go and check with the central bank or NNPC. The production from 1999 to 2014 was 2.1 million barrels per day. When we came, somehow the militants were unleashed in the South South.
“Production went down to half a million barrels per day, and coincidentally, the price again collapsed to about $37 per barrel. But look at what we did within the time frame and the resources available to us relative to the government we inherited.”
Despite the gains made so far in improving the economy, the President is not happy with the present state of power because no country can develop without infrastructure, and infrastructure, for him, means road, rail, and power.
He, however, gave an assurance that his administration was working hard to bridge the gap, although the privatisation of the sector was another problem to worry about.
President Buhari lamented that the owners of the distribution companies bought them based on geo-political zones rather than merit, stressing that removing a system and reintroducing one was no joke.
He went on to defend his government’s decision to source loans from China, saying anyone willing to help Nigeria’s infrastructure was welcome.
“We take that (loans) where it is necessary … we got the Chinese to help us in the rail and the roads, how can we turn that down? If we had turned that down maybe between Lagos to Ibadan, you will have to walk,” the President said.
“So, the Chinese are welcome, anybody that is prepared to come and help us and our infrastructure to do the roads, the rail, and power will be welcomed.”
In the area of education, President Buhari told Nigerian youths to use their exposure to improve themselves and not see them as tickets to depend on the government.
He said, “I wish when they go to school when they work hard when they earn their degree; they don’t do it thinking that government must give them jobs. You get educated because an educated person is certainly better than an uneducated person, even in identifying personal problems.
“So, education is not just meant to hang on to the government to give you jobs and then what the colonialists indoctrinated in us to believe – have a car, have a house, start work by 8:00 am, and close by 2 pm.”
The President also shared his political view where he said he was ready to sign the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, if the National Assembly would include the options of consensus candidate and indirect primary to the mode of selecting a candidate for an election, as against the initial direct mode as the only option to conduct primaries by political parties.
Asked if he will sign the bill if the lawmakers effect the change in that direction, he affirmed, “Yes, I will! I will sign.
“There should be options, you can’t dictate to people and say you are doing democracy. Give them other options so they can make a choice.”
Buhari defended his government’s decision to source loans from China, saying anyone willing to help Nigeria’s infrastructure is welcome.
According to data from the Debt Management Office, Nigeria has borrowed $2.02 billion as loans from China from 2015 and the country’s debt portfolio from China has risen to $3.40bn as of March 31, 2021.
Buhari stated that whenever there was a need to secure more foreign loans, his administration would do so.
The Commander-in-Chief equally erased fears in some quarters that Africa’s most populous nation might be plunged into a debt trap.
Away from the Chinese loans, Buhari also spoke on a wide range of national issues including his decision not to sign the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
Buhari had declined assent to the bill, citing the inclusion of the direct primaries mode of elections.
According to the President, he will sign the bill if the National Assembly makes the needed adjustment.
Buhari has told Nigerian youths to use their education and exposure to improve themselves and not see them as tickets to depend on the government.
“I wish when they go to school; when they work hard; when they earn their degree, they don’t do it thinking that government must give them jobs,” he noted.
“You get educated because an educated person is certainly better than an uneducated person even in identifying personal problems. So, education is not just meant to hang on to the government to give you jobs and then what the colonialists indoctrinated in us to believe – have a car, have a house; start work by 8:00 am and close by 2 pm.”
Aside from this, Buhari also spoke on a wide range of national issues including his decision not to sign the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
Earlier in the interview, President Buhari had also reiterated his government’s resolve to tackle banditry in the country’s northwest region.
“So, I think the only language they understand – we have discussed it thoroughly with the law enforcement agencies; the security chiefs, the Inspector General of Police – is to go after them; the terrorists,” he added.

President Buhari said he is absolutely aware of the suffering and pains Nigerians go through to feed themselves and their families under his administration.
The President however, encouraged the people to see agriculture as an option.
During the interview, President Buhari also spoke about a number of burning issues including security, economy, and politics, among others.
He assessed his administration’s performance since he assumed office in 2015, especially in the three key areas of security, improving the economy, and fighting corruption.
The President believes the situation has improved and his administration has continued to improve the economy, despite the nation’s dwindling resources.
“For Nigerians to be fair with this administration is to try and find out from the time we won the election in 2015 till now, in the three promises we made – improving security, improving the economy, and trying to fight corruption; securing the country in the North East, if you ask anybody from Borno State, from Yobe State, from Adamawa State, there are a number of local governments – about 18 – that were in the hands of Boko Haram, no local government now is strictly in the hands of Boko Haram or ISWAP. So, in that respect, we have done something,” he asserted.
“In the economy, don’t forget and I challenge so many people to go and check with the central bank or NNPC. The production from 1999 to 2014 was 2.1 million barrels per day. When we came, somehow the militants were unleashed in the South-South.
“Production went down to half a million barrels per day, and coincidentally, the price again collapsed to about $37 per barrel. But look at what we did within the time frame and the resources available to us relative to the government we inherited.”