President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated Bola Tinubu, the winner of the just concluded presidential election, saying that he is the best man for the job.
Early on Wednesday morning, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of the election. He surpassed challengers Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party to achieve this feat.
Celebrating with his fellow party member, Buhari said, “I congratulate His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu 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.
READ ALSO: INEC declares APC’s Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the winner of the 2023 Presidential Election
The winning candidate did not carry his own home state either
“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. In the presidential elections, states in all regions across the nation changed colour. Some amongst you may have noticed my home state amongst them.
“The winning candidate did not carry his own home state either. That happens during a competitive election. Votes and those that cast them cannot be taken for granted. Each must be earned. Competition is good for our democracy. There is no doubt the people’s decision has been rendered in the results we look at today.
“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.
Go to the courts, not the streets
“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.
“However, to do the latter 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.
“After a degree of polarization that necessarily accompanies any election, it is now time to come together and act responsibly. I call on all candidates to remember the peace pledge they signed just days before the election. Do not undermine the credibility of INEC. Let us now move forward as one. The people have spoken.”
Tinubu gained victory in 12 of Nigeria’s 36 states and prevailed with significant numbers in several other states to claim the highest number of votes — 8,794,726, almost two million votes more than Atiku.
READ ALSO: 2023 Nigerian Elections: Man sends wife packing because of Ekiti state results
APC governors doctored results – Atiku protests
Meanwhile, Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) presidential candidate requested that Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, INEC’s national chairman, urge the election’s collation officers to upload the results of yesterday’s poll to the INEC server right away.
Atiku claimed that the action was required to checkmate a few governors who were attempting to tamper with the outcomes of the local government collation.
In a statement online on Sunday, February 26, by his spokesman, Paul Ibe, Atiku said:
“It will be a disservice to Nigerians and a negation to democracy for anyone to subvert the will of the people as freely expressed in their votes of yesterday.”
