President Muhammadu Buhari has hailed the conduct of the 2023 general election as a major achievement of his administration.

In a Sallah message to the Muslim community, Buhari emphasized that his administration had provided a level playing field for all candidates, regardless of political affiliation.

The president also commended the transparent nature of the election, citing instances where members of his political party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), lost their seats.

Buhari reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to upholding the principles of free and fair elections, stressing that such values were essential in building a credible democracy. He emphasized that the subversion of the will of the people would undermine democracy, reiterating that his administration had not interfered with the electoral process to give anyone an unfair advantage.

“I’m proud that I have created a level playing field for all contestants regardless of party affiliation in order to produce a fair outcome for all,” he said.

“Free and fair elections are the only principles that give credibility to our democracy because the subversion of the will of the people undermines democracy itself.”

The president noted that “free and fair elections are the only principles that give credibility to our democracy because the subversion of the will of the people undermines democracy itself”.

“At no point did I interfere with the process in order to give unfair advantage to anyone,” he added.

The presidential and national assembly elections were conducted on February 25, with the governorship and state assembly polls taking place on March 18. While Bola Tinubu of the APC was declared the winner of the presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Labour Party (LP) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) contested the result at the election petition tribunal.