By Valentine Amanze, Online Editor
President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria on Thursday showered praises on the outgoing President of Niger Republic, Mahamadou Issoufou, and the Nigeriens for the peaceful and successful conduct of the presidential and parliamentary elections on December 27, 2020.
During an audience with Mr. Namadi Sambo, the former Nigerian vice-president and leader of the ECOWAS Electoral Observation Mission (EOM), appointed to oversee the elections, Buhari said that Issoufou deserved to be congratulated on how he organised and conducted the elections.
His words: “I have been very, very impressed by what I have been seeing and hearing. I will call to congratulate him. Issoufou is going home with honour and grace. All is well that ends well.”
While noting the smooth and peaceful conduct of the elections in Niger Republic, Buhari, however, expressed regrets over reported incidents of violence in some other countries in the sub-region.
He said, “Seeing how bloody it has been in some other countries, Issoufou must be congratulated on working out this so well so that he will hand over and go quietly.”
Buhari also praised the work of the ECOWAS Mission to Niger Republic under Sambo, describing it as very impressive.
In his remarks, the former vice-president described the elections as “successful, free and fair. The elections went well. No incident had created an alarm,” while expressing the hope that the peaceful conduct would continue.
He also conveyed to President Buhari the gratitude of members of the mission for the support given by Nigeria, and the appreciation of the government and people of Niger Republic for Nigeria’s continuous cooperation, support and encouragement.