President Muhammadu Buhari after the emergence of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as president-elect at the presidential election has asked opposition parties to seek legal redress regarding their discontent with the electoral process.
Buhari made this call in a statement signed by his spokesman, Garba Shehu, on Wednesday, March 1, 2023.
The call came from President Muhammadu Buhari in response to opposition’s calls for the cancellation of the election.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party had asked the Independent National Electoral Commission Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, to step down from his position over claims that the election was rigged in favour of the ruling party.
But reacting to the claims in a statement on Wednesday, the President asked the opposition party to approach the court and prove their case.
“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,” Buhari said.
Meanwhile, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State has suggested that Nigerians voted for Bola Tinubu to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari because of his decades-long fight for the restoration of democracy in the country.
Ganduje, in a statement issued this morning by his Chief Press Secretary, Malam Abba Anwar, commended the hard political struggle and commitment of Tinubu’s political dynasty.
He said, “Tinubu’s genuine investment in human, national development, and national integration played some critical roles in endearing him to all sections of the country.
“Tinubu’s decades-long fight for the restoration of democracy in the country is well understood by Nigerians. Hence we see the wisdom and valid reasons for entrusting our future to him.
“With our President-elect, Tinubu, leading the largest democracy in Africa, our continent will definitely benefit from the wealth of experience for the development of the continent.”
