Bloomberg Interview: Buhari’s Claims a Mere Expression, Citizens Have No Connection with Govt, Says Rafsanjani

• President Buhari's assertions that his administration has done well in fighting insecurity and corruption have been labelled as a mere fragment of words that holds no grounds
• Chairman of the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), Comrade Auwal Rafsanjani made this known on Wednesday, June 22
• The pragmatic comrade urged the government to tackle critical issues of injustice and the collapse of responsive governance as the first step to curb the frequent attacks by IPOB

FCT, Abuja - The chairman of the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), Comrade Auwal Rafsanjani has played down the comments of President Muhammadu Buhari reeling out his achievements in his recent interview with an American media outlet, Bloomberg news.

Legit.ng recalls that President Buhari in the interview stated that his administration has performed well in fighting insecurity and corruption in the country.

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Reacting to Buhari's comment, Comrade Rafsanjani in a telephone chat with Legit.ng's regional correspondent said the president's comment was "just an expression, but in reality, the reverse is the case".

He stated that the current dispensation of government has let down the citizens in all ramifications, especially in the area of government officials syphoning taxpayers' money for their own personal gain.

Rafsanjani said:

"As it is now, Nigerians have no connection with the government, they don't feel the government and some government officials are so wicked that they syphon taxpayers' money and they do it with impunity.

"So Nigerians are not seeing what the government is doing because it's not touching them. In terms of education, healthcare, infrastructure and security they are not seeing anything.

"So when government is talking about achieving all these millstones, Nigerians see it as something that is abstract because they don't see it, they don't feel."

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Rafsanjani reacts to Buhari's call for proscription of IPOB

He stated further that government must work towards restoring hope and confidence in Nigerians because the system has been adulterated from the local government cadre upward to the national cadre of government.

While responding to the President's call for international allies to proscribe and declare the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) as a terrorist group, Rafsanjani stated that government must first address critical issues of injustice rather than militarizing the whole process.

Rafsanjani noted that the United Kingdom and the United States are already taking monitoring steps over the activities of IPOB as he urged the government to tackle cases of injustice with deliberate and sincere intervention.

He said:

"As long as we continue to militarize the process, it's going to be difficult for any meaningful dialogue rather there will be an escalation of the conflict. So the government must ensure that issues that constitute injustice must be addressed, the collapse of responsive governance, and corruption leakages must also be addressed. Once this is done and people are seeing development, then people can actually support the effort of government."

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2023 polls: TMG collaborating with election stakeholders for improved security - Rafsanjani

When asked about the role of TMG and other CSOs in ensuring adequate security in the forthcoming general election and considering the tension of insecurity and the fear of electorates to turnout, Rafsanjani said collaborative efforts and processes are already in play to salvage the situation.

He stated that the essence of the move is because of the vulnerability of Nigerians to insecurity and threats to their lives.

Rafsanjani said:

"When we conducted a survey on security threats in some states in Nigeria on the election, we discovered that there is a huge threat being faced by Nigerians in these states either by powerful individuals in the community, or even by some agents of the state or by some individual politicians that do engage or recruit violence against peace loving Nigerians."

The TMG chairman assured Nigerians that the group is already "working with the state and non-state actors to ensure that the safety and protection of the Nigerian people during and after election is enhanced and guaranteed."

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Ekiti 2022: Group condemns rampant voter inducement at poll, lauds INEC performance

In another development, the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) has commended INEC for its performance at the gubernatorial polls in Ekiti.

The group also lauded the efficiency of security operatives, who were able to maintain normalcy during the polls.

However, the group chairman, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani condemned the dominance of vote-buying during the election.

Ekiti 2022: Vote buying, ballot snatching surges at polls as INEC maintain clean slate

In another similar report, persistent case of voter inducement is said to have taken over the electoral process of the Ekiti governorship election.

Electoral observer group, Yiaga Africa stated that voter inducement is on the rampage in some polling units across the state.

It was also gathered that ballot box snatching occurred in at least two polling units in Ilawe Ekiti state.

Source: Legit.ng