By Williams Anuku

President Muhammadu Buhari has been slammed over his comment about handing over power to Ibrahim Shettima, running mate of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 election.

Buhari had made the comment during Shettima’s visit to the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Wednesday.

The group, Coalition of Nigeria Elders for Electoral Reforms (CNRER), labelled the comment as divisive, saying all candidates should have a level playing field.

Recall that during the visit, Buhari had said, among others, that: “I will respond to your speech when I am handing over to you and your boss. God willing, you are going to win.”

“I wish you the best. Your consistency in the party is very respectful. You served your two terms as Governor and finished well.

“You have kept touch with your base. At every important occasion or event, you are maintaining support for the one who succeeded you. This is commendable”.

But, the Coalition in its reaction expressed concerns over the part of the speech where the President said he will hand over to the presidential candidate of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and his deputy, Shettima.

Specifically, the elders’ group fears that there may be plans to compromise the electoral process, to favour the President’s party, the APC, during the general elections in 2023.

In a statement signed by Dr. Hassan Ibrahim Funtua and Architect Yemisi Abiola, National President, and National Secretary respectively, the group urged Buhari to be decorous in his comments, insisting that, as president, his preoccupation should be how to deepen electoral reforms.

This, the group argued, will entrench the true principle of the rule of law, where there is equality before the law, and where processes and procedures are followed to the letter, irrespective of parties involved.

The elders reminded Buhari, that one of the legacies of former President Goodluck Jonathan, is the enthronement of a credible electoral act, which culminated in a process that saw his (Buhari’s) emergence in 2015, after defeating the incumbent.

They, therefore, tasked the number one citizen with the urgent need to allow the electorate to elect their preferred choices in next year’s polls, while also insulating the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from partisan dealings.