From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The presidency has described President Muhammadu Buhari’s role in the recently concluded presidential primary of the All Progressive Congress (APC) as a confirmation that he is not an “elected autocrat”, and a major boost for the country’s democracy.
In a statement by Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the presidency said contrary to speculations in the media, Buhari had no plans of imposing a particular candidate.
“The President always said he had a favoured candidate. He said that his candidate was whoever was chosen by the APC in a democratic primary to lead the party at the election.”
According to Shehu the President’s actions have put an end to the “strong leader myth in Nigeria.”
He added that “People make assumptions that if you are a leader, you dominate everything, and even determine electoral outcomes.
“Luckily for Nigeria, President Buhari does not suffer from such constraints. He refuses to act as the elected autocrat.
“The President had a clear purpose leading up to the primary: to ensure a transparent, free and fair process that will bring back people’s faith in democracy by taking good governance up to the grassroots level.
“By this alone, people’s faith and that of the international community in our democracy has received a major boost since the completion of the APC nomination.
“The flagbearer has been chosen. He has the President’s unwavering support. The journey to victory continues.”