•Sets agenda for Buhari, warns on what President mustn’t do in second term

By Soni Daniel, Northern Region Editor

Penultimate Saturday polls that re-elected President Muhammadu Buhari for second term were the freest ever in Nigeria’s political history, Second Republic lawmaker, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, has submitted.

•Junaid Mohammed

Mohammed, a fierce critic of Buhari, told Sunday Vanguard in Abuja that those who criticised the elections as having been greeted by violence and intimidation in the South-East (Igbo) and South-South were being economical with the truth.

“I must admit that the incidents of violence and intimidation were far less than what we had since 1959 till date,” Mohammed said.

“It is clear that even though there were reports of intimidation and violence in some parts of the country, they  were not as destructive as the atrocities unleashed on the nation by Boko Haram an bandits whose activities are more vicious than electoral violence.  The elections were perhaps the freest”.  the medical doctor turned politician and critic said.

Mohammed described the reported violence and intimidation in parts of Nigeria as “a deliberate attempt by some powerful politicians to disenfranchise the people and secure undeserved victory”.

He went on: “I don’t believe it (violence) was significant enough to cause any significant breach of the elections. On the whole, I insist that this was nothing to worry about.

“I must express my concerns about the vile comments over the outcome of the elections. They are mischievous and this mischief will lead us to nowhere in this country”.

He had pitched his tent with a faction of the Social Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the polls before the court sacked it.

Meanwhile, Mohammed warned Buhari not to disappoint Nigerians in his second term as he did in his first, saying the President should assemble a team of competent, incorruptible and patriotic persons to serve in his cabinet in order to render quality service to the people.

The politician also cautioned the President to do away with what he called “nepotic tendencies’ in the appointment of key government functionaries, adding that he should use his second coming to heal wounds rather than create new ones.

Mohammed said: “Buhari should pay more attention to the needs of the generality of Nigerians and not his tribe and must be ready to listen to those who tell him the bitter truth no matter how discomforting.

“Buhari must avoid giving key appointments to wrong people, a development that does not sit well with the generality of the Nigerian people, who have overwhelmingly given him a second chance to pay attention to merit over nepotism”.

On how the administration can end the menace of Boko Haram insurgency, Mohammed asked the President to appoint a competent Nigerian army general to lead the war against the malevolent group and liberate those under its captivity.

“Buhari must win the Boko Haram war and leave a legacy. For now, it is obvious that the war has been mismanaged to the extent that it is breeding bandits in a hitherto peaceful area of Nigeria,” he lamented.