A Nonagenarian and the Esogban of Benin Kingdom, Chief David Edebiri, has described the Feb. 23 Presidential and National Assembly (NASS) election as the freest in the country since 1951, when he started voting as an adult.
The Benin chief stated this when he addressed journalists in Benin on Wednesday.
He also called on Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to congratulate Buhari and extend a hand of fellowship, just as he advised Buhari to be magnanimous in victory and continue his anti-corruption fight.
“My reaction is one of great concern for some Nigerians, who tried by all means to scuttle this development, using the judiciary, using every means to scuttle the programme.
“If they had succeeded, then we would have returned to ”Egypt” where God delivered us from.
“I voted in the election. I started voting since December 1951 and that is exactly 68 years ago.
“Since I started voting in 1951, till date, I have not failed to vote in any election, including that which was conducted by Babangida on June 12, 1993.
“There was none of these elections that has been as free as the one we held on February 23, I say that from my own personal knowledge, this is not history that you read from books, this is something in which I participated.
“There was none of these elections that is as transparent, free and fair as the one we have just held, so to that extent, Muhammadu Buhari should be praised.
“He promised the world that there would be no interference in the electoral process and that is exactly what has happened, he told Nigerians that he will continue to fight corruption and all corruptive tendencies and that is what he has done,” he stated.
Edebiri said Buhari’s coming in 2015 saved Nigeria from total collapse.
(NAN)
