TINUBU'S VICTORY: BUHARI ADVISES ATIKU AND OBI TO TAKE IT TO COURT RATHER THAN THE STREETS

Muhammadu Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the candidate of the All Progressives Party, APC for winning the 2023 Presidential Election. 

On Wednesday morning, the departing president Buhari made a statement via his media assistant Garba Shehu.

According to Buhari, "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."

For a region that has recently experienced backsliding and military coups, according to Buhari, this election shows democracy's enduring relevance and capacity to serve its constituents.

He said, "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."

Buhari went on to say that democracy benefits from competition, adding that "there is no doubt the people's decision has been rendered in the results we look at today."

He acknowledged it doesn't mean the exercise was perfect.

In his words, "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."

"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," he tasked the losers.

Buhari thus cautioned that deviating from this course would entail doing so not for the benefit of the populace but rather to incite conflict, put people in danger, and further one's own self-interest.

In addition, he gave advice to all candidates in the recently ended elections, saying that it was time to unite and take responsibility following the inevitable degree of divisiveness that always follows an election.

"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," he said.

Recall that on Saturday in Daura, Buhari revealed his his papers so that everyone could see who he had voted for.

A few minutes later, his actions had sparked intense debates inside the political system, with many Nigerians disagreeing on whether or not he had broken the electoral law.

However, Garba Shehu would absolve his principal of these offenses in a statement, contending that Buhari had only displayed his ballot as a token of his party's and his favored candidate's allegiance.

Afterwards, Tinubu was defeated by the Peoples Democratic Party, or PDP, in the election for Katsina state.