ABUJA, May 28 (Reuters) – Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday defended his record on the economy and the outcome of a disputed presidential election, saying he is leaving a legacy of credible and fair votes a day before handing power to him Successor.
Buhari first took office in 2015 after promising to restart the economy and end corruption and insecurity. However, many Nigerians say these problems have worsened under his leadership.
New President Bola Tinubu’s victory is being contested by his two closest opposition rivals, and on Tuesday a tribunal will begin hearing the main arguments of the election proposal.
Buhari, an austere 80-year-old retired general, said February’s vote helped solidify democracy in Africa’s most populous country and that Tinubu, who ran on his ruling party’s list, was the best candidate to come out of the country choice had emerged.
“I am leaving behind an electoral process that guarantees votes count, results are credible, elections are fair and transparent, and the influence of money on politics is reduced to the bare minimum,” Buhari said in a nationwide farewell broadcast.
Tinubu inherits weak economic growth, record debt and shrinking oil production. Double-digit inflation, which eats away at savings and wages, is one of the biggest problems he will face once he takes office.
But Buhari said his government made some tough decisions to boost the economy, some of which “had resulted in temporary pain and suffering, for which I sincerely apologize to my countrymen, but the measures were taken for the general good of the country.” .”
Life is tough for Nigerians, and a tangle of protectionist economic policies and foreign exchange interventions has left dollars short and scared off investors.
Writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Edited by Hugh Lawson
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