I wont send Jonathan to Prison, No Need to be Afraid – Buhari

President-elect Muhammadu Buhari has assured President Goodluck Jonathan that he has nothing to fear from his administration, but sources say that is if Jonathan's hand is clean.

Buhari, in his acceptance speech after being declared the winner of Saturday’s presidential election and presented with certificate of return in Abuja on Wednesday, said “despite the rancour of the elections,” he harboured no grudge against anyone.

To prove this, he extended “a hand of friendship and conciliation to Jonathan and his team.”

During the campaigns, Jonathan's wife was really afraid that Buhari will send her husband to prison.

But while reading his speech, Buhari said he is set to stabilize Nigeria. He also reiterated his determination to end insurgency in the North-East, rescue the economy and stem corruption which he described as an evil worse than terrorism.

The President-elect said even though there could be a disagreement between him and Jonathan over governance, the President remained a great Nigerian.

He said, “Let me state clearly that President Jonathan has nothing to fear from me. Although we may not agree on the methods of governing the nation, he is a great Nigerian and still our president. He deserves our support and permanent respect by virtue of the office he has held.

“This is how an honourable nation treats its servants and conducts its affairs. I should be looking forward to meeting with President Jonathan in the days to come to discuss how our teams can make the transition of administrations as efficient as possible.”

On insurgency, he said, “No doubt, this nation has suffered greatly in the recent past, and its staying power has been tested to its limits by crises, chief among which is insurgency of the Boko Haram.

“There is no doubt that in tackling the insurgency, we have a tough and urgent job to do. But I assure you that Boko Haram will soon know the strength of our collective will and commitment to rid this nation of terror, and bring back peace and normalcy to all the affected areas. We shall spare no effort until we defeat terrorism.”

He added, “We shall strongly battle another form of evil that is even worse than terrorism — the evil of corruption. Corruption attacks and seeks to destroy our national institutions and character.

“By misdirecting into selfish hands funds intended for the public purpose, corruption distorts the economy and worsens income inequality. It creates a class of unjustly-enriched people.

“Such an illegal yet powerful force soon comes to undermine democracy because its conspirators have amassed so much money that they believe they can buy government.

“We shall end this threat to our economic development and democratic survival. I repeat that corruption will not be tolerated by this administration.”