A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Bode George, has said that the late former President Muhammadu Buhari will be remembered favourably in Nigeria’s history for laying the foundation of a modern electoral process.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television on Tuesday, George acknowledged Buhari’s role in introducing technological reforms to Nigeria’s elections, saying his name “will remain golden” for that achievement.
“There are one or two areas that I would like to mention about my experiences with Buhari, He established and bought modern equipment for our electoral process. No matter how you write the history of this country, his name will remain golden in that line,” George said.
However, he expressed deep disappointment over how the system was handled during the 2023 general elections, alleging that the integrity of the process was compromised.
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“But what did we do with it again? We messed it up. Till the D-day, the 8th hour, it had a glitch. I never heard of any system that was robust having a glitch,” George said, drawing from his background as a computer engineer.
Using an analogy from his naval career, George likened the failure to a warship’s defence system crashing at the critical moment of an incoming missile strike. He suggested that the explanation given for the failure that the system experienced a “glitch” was unconvincing and possibly dishonest.
“The company that sold it said there was no glitch; we were watching you online you switched off the system,” he claimed.
George lamented the missed opportunity to build a credible electoral system, adding that Buhari’s initiative, if sustained, could have ended the “shenanigans” that have long plagued Nigerian elections.
“In memory of Oga [Buhari], that would have helped the electoral process and removed the shenanigans we have been going through for years. That we will not forget,” he said.
The remarks come as Nigerians continue to debate the legacy of the late president, whose tenure ended in 2023 amidst mixed reactions to his administration’s reforms and policies.
