There are no pressure from foreign countries on President Muhammadu Buhari not to seek re-election, says Femi Adesina, the special adviser on media and publicity to the President.
He said President Muhammadu Buhari thought deeply before finally making his decision to pursue a second term in office.
He noted that there are no pressure from the European Union, US, UK and Saudi Arabia on President Buhari not to contest in the 2019 general elections, as reported in a national daily.
Giving his reaction in a statement, Adesina said apart from holding the President in high esteem, foreign powers have no say in the affairs of Nigeria.
“Under the headline, ‘Pressure mounts on Buhari not to seek re-election,’ the fiction parading as news claims that foreign powers, including the European Union, United States of America, United Kingdom, and Saudi Arabia, are putting pressure on President Buhari not to seek re-election, due to some concocted reasons,” the statement read.
“We thought fake news was the sole preserve of the social media in this season. Alas, a traditional medium has caught the bug. Obviously, the author of the story just got a brain wave, or got procured by anti-democratic elements, and then penned the mischief.
“If there are quarters in which president Buhari is held in very high esteem, and the work he is doing for Nigeria highly lauded, it is in the countries mentioned. Some of them are equally bastions of democracy, and will not interfere in the democratic affairs of a sovereign country. The newspaper should simply tell its story to the marines.
“President Buhari is not a flippant or frivolous individual. He gave deep thought to the prospect, before announcing his bid for a second term in office. It is only those who fear that their goose would be cooked, if they meet with him at the polls, that are trying to dissuade him from running by all means, including sponsored newspaper stories.
“By saying it got feelers that President Buhari may opt out of the 2019 presidential election, embarrassed itself, and all those who love good journalism. The newspaper can surely do better.”
