Photo Credit: Twitter @MBuhari
Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated Asiwaju Bola Tinubu on "his victory in the 2023 presidential election". In a statement released through his official twitter handle, the president said Tinubu was the best person for the job and wished him success in his new role.
"I congratulate His Excellency @officialABAT on his victory. Elected by the people, he is the best person for the job. I shall now work with him and his team to ensure an orderly handover of power.
The election was Africa’s largest democratic exercise. In a region that has undergone backsliding and military coups in recent years, this election demonstrates democracy’s continued relevance and capability to deliver for the people it serves. Within Nigeria, the results reveal democracy’s ripening in our country. Never has the electoral map shifted so drastically in one cycle."
President Buhari, however, warns opposition parties against any form of street protest and insist that every grievance should be expressed in the court of law, even as he accepts that there were some faults in the electoral process.
"That is not to say the exercise was without fault. For instance, there were technical problems with electronic transmission of the results. Of course, there will be areas that need work to bring further transparency and credibility to the voting procedure.
However, none of the issues registered represent a challenge to the freeness and fairness of the elections.
I know some politicians and candidates may not agree with this view. That too is fine. If any candidate believes they can prove the fraud they claim is committed against them, then bring forward the evidence.
If they cannot, then we must conclude that the election was indeed the people’s will – no matter how hard that may be for the losers to accept. If they feel the need to challenge, please take it to the courts, not to the streets.
To take to the streets means they are not doing it in the interest of the people, but rather to inflame, to put people in harm’s way and all for personal, selfish gains," the president said.
He added that Nigerians should not undermine the credibility of the INEC, that Tinubu's win is the choice of the people.
I congratulate His Excellency @officialABAT on his victory. Elected by the people, he is the best person for the job. I shall now work with him and his team to ensure an orderly handover of power. pic.twitter.com/YwryZ1uFXJ
— Muhammadu Buhari (@MBuhari) March 1, 2023
The 2023 Nigerian presidential election took place on February 25th. Mr. Ahmed Tinubu, the presidential aspirant for the All Progressive Congress (APC) was announced the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Tinubu had a total of 8,794,726 votes which amount to about 1.8 million votes against his rivals, Mr. Atiku Abubakar of People's Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of Labour Party (LP), who scored 6,984,290 votes and 6,093,962 votes, respectively.
The election was reportedly marred by reports of rampant corruption, violence, rigging, and other malpractices orchestrated by INEC and the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC). INEC is supposed to be an independent body, however, it has been heavily influenced by external forces, including the sitting government and the ruling party.
In light of this, Peter Obi's running mate for the opposition Labor Party, Mr. Ahmed Datti, has stated that the party rejects the election results and plans to take other measures as it believes the ruling APC party has corrupted the Nigerian judiciary. Consequently, many Nigerians have called for INEC to be banned, leaving the worst legacy for its chairman, Mr. Mahmood Yakubu.
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