Presidency to Clarke, Babalola: No Tenure Elongation for Buhari

•Says president upbeat securing country 

•May 29, 2023 handover date sacrosanct

Deji Elumoye

The Presidency has formally responded to the recent suggestions by two senior lawyers that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari should be extended by six months.

While Chief Robert Clarke, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said the six months will be required by the president to adequately secure the country before hand over, his fellow SAN, Afe Babalola, canvassed for an interim administration to be put in place after May 29, 2023, for a new constitution to be put in place before polls.

Presidential spokesman, Mallam Garba Shehu, in a release yesterday night titled, “May 29, 2023 Handover Date Sacrosanct,” noted that much as Clarke, a very well-respected elder, might be sincere in his wish for the president to extend his term by six months, the presidency categorically reiterated that Buhari will step down on May 29th, 2023, after serving two terms in line with the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

The statement emphasised that being the first recipient of a democratic transfer of power from an incumbent administration to an opposition candidate in Nigerian history, the president was committed to extending and entrenching democratic values across the country.

Buhari, according to the presidency, shall, in turn, hand the privilege of serving the people of Nigeria to whomever Nigerian voters chose through free, fair and credible elections next year.

It stressed that the Buhari administration was concerned about ensuring that the country was well secured and cited the decimation of Boko Haram terrorists, and the return of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to rebuild their homes.

According to the release, “Chief Clarke is right to say that without security, Nigeria would not likely realise its true potential as a peaceful and prosperous nation. That is why it has been at the core of this administration. The results are there for all to see. Boko Haram have been forced back from controlling whole swathes of this country. Internally Displaced Persons are now returning to rebuild their communities. These achievements have been accomplished through the bravery and determination of the Nigerian armed forces and the fortitude of the people of our nation.

“New challenges have arisen and tackled in turn – whether it’s the National Livestock Transformation Plan to alleviate herder-farmer clashes, the elimination of the leadership of ISWAP, or new efforts to combat banditry.

“Till the last day of the administration, the security of the citizens shall remain the administration’s paramount concern. We shall finish the job. Yet, in any case, respect for the constitution and Nigerians’ democratic rights remains the best path to securing and then maintaining peace.

“Yet there are others, such as Chief Afe Babalola, that believe elections should be suspended, with the current elected government replaced by an interim unelected administration. This, he claims, is necessary to create a new constitution for the people, made possible, paradoxically, by ignoring their democratic rights. Down that path lies crisis and instability.

“Instead, this administration proposes something entirely simpler: honouring the constitution and people’s right to decide.”