President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated his successor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu for emerging winner of the presidential election concluded early Wednesday.
Tinubu, who is of the same All Progressives Congress (APC) as President Buhari, won the election by polling 8,794,726 votes as against 6,984,520 by his closest rival, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
President Buhari described President-elect Tinubu as the “best person for the job”, pledging to work with him and his team to ensure an orderly handover of power.
Former governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi was also one of the first to send congratulatory messages to the newly elected president.
A statement by a presidential spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu quoted President Buhari as saying: “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.
“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.
“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”.
Fayemi said that Tinubu demonstrated “political resilience, brilliance, and shrewdness” in the process leading to his victory.
He said the President-elect had mentored a vast number of Nigeria’s political leadership and worked hard to develop and sustain progressive ideology in Nigeria.
In the statement issued on his behalf by the head of the Fayemi Media Office in Abuja, Ahmad Sajoh, the former governor said that ‘’Tinubu was the leader of opposition politics when it was not fashionable to be in the opposition in Nigeria, but through hard work, foresight, and compromise, he, working with other leaders, formed the APC, which has now won three consecutive presidential elections”.
Excerpts of the statement: “I congratulate the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu on his victory in the 2023 presidential election. It was a hard-fought win, which demonstrates the crowning of Asiwaju’s efforts and vision for Nigeria.
“With the Asiwaju I know, I trust that his administration will fight for the interests of ordinary Nigerians and work hard to achieve our national goals of peace, unity, and economic prosperity. While Asiwaju might have been the presidential candidate of the APC, he would be President of all Nigerians and promote unity, equity, and fairness.
“I thank all members of the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) and loyal party men and women across the length and breadth of the country who worked hard for our Party’s victory at the polls. This victory would not have been possible without the diligence and faithfulness of our members.
“I also wish to thank Nigerians who have trusted our party with presidential leadership again. I want to assure Nigerians that we will not disappoint and implement as faithfully as possible our presidential campaign manifesto.
“I use this opportunity to reiterate my earlier appeal that political leaders and actors should shun inflammatory remarks, and encourage their followers to do the same. We cannot burn down our country or truncate this precious democracy because of one electoral loss. There will be more electoral opportunities in future
“I would also like to urge the victorious candidate and our party to seriously consider a government of national unity given the excellent performance of the opposition political parties. In this historic election cycle, there is no victor and no vanquished. This is not a time for triumphalism but a time to celebrate the resilience of ordinary Nigerians with sobriety”.
