[Nigeria] I won’t use govt money for campaigns, Buhari promises

President Muhammadu Buhari wednesday in Abuja said he was committed to eliminating corruption in campaign financing, vowing not to use any money from the treasury for his re-election campaign.
The president, according to a statement by his media adviser, Mr. Femi Adesina, said the president made the disclosure, while speaking at the close of wednesday’s weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in the Council Chamber of the State House.
Adesina said Buhari directed members of his cabinet ministers to take advantage of technology to reach out to voters on the need to return the All Progressives Congress (APC)- led administration in next month’s general elections.
He quoted the president as saying, “As political parties spread their ideologies and views to every nook and crannies of the country, the issue of cash payment to voters and its corrupting influence in electioneering has once again become a topical issue.
“Try and use text and multi-media messages to seek votes for the party and government.
‘‘There is no money from the treasury for use in the campaigns. I will not authorise that.”
According to him, Buhari declared that the APC-led administration has a clear development agenda best suited to take Nigeria forward and sustain economic development.
‘‘This message needs to be taken to all Nigerians but we cannot use money from the treasury to share out to prospective voters.
‘‘Nigerians want change and we alone can deliver that change. Our people can no longer be swayed by money politics,’’ he was further quoted to have said.
The statement added that the president also used the occasion, which was a valedictory session for the Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, Hajiya Khadija Bukar Abba Ibrahim, to wish the minister success in her electoral contest.
“The minister had signified her desire to leave the cabinet, in line with existing regulations, to run for a legislative seat in her native Yobe State,” the statement added.