The Presidency says only losers in the February 25 presidential race are complaining about the election outcome, stating that the poll is the most competitive in Nigeria’s history.
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party and ex-Governor Peter Obi of the Labour Party were losers in the presidential election. The ruling APC flag bearer Bola Tinubu was declared the winner by INEC in the contentious and competitive poll.
Messrs Abubakar and Obi are in court to contest the electoral process that allegedly favoured Mr Tinubu.
The Presidency thanked former ambassadors Mark Green and Johnnie Carson, as well as other foreign observers, for their concerns over the logistics of the general election and lauded their work as observers on the National Democratic Institute/International Republican Institute Election Observation Missions.
“It is worth setting their comments in context. No one has disputed the result of the election except the candidates that fell short. The biggest and the most competitive presidential election in the history of Nigeria has been won by one man: Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” said the Presidency in a statement on Monday.
It stressed that despite delays and technical faults, the election consolidated democracy in Nigeria.
It added, ”The US State Department congratulated President-elect Bola Tinubu of the governing All Progressives Congress, APC and the people of Nigeria on the outcome of the ‘competitive election’. British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, was also quick to congratulate the winner on this victory. And so did many others in ECOWAS and the African Union.”
The Presidency explained that despite the electoral flaws witnessed during the presidential poll, “the integrity of the Electoral Act of 2022 was strengthened” because the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System cut out ghost, unauthorised or multiple votes to stem fraud.
“The election may not have been perfect, but due to the steps the government has taken, it is an improvement on previous polls. That achievement should not be overlooked. The next step is for the election commission to ensure transparency in collation,” stated the Presidency.
The statement noted that elsewhere, the world had been treated to “epic lies, obfuscation, jingoism and hate, and told by global media to expect a different outcome,” but Nigerians “shocked the world by refusing religious hatred and sectarian politics.”
The Presidency insisted that “this election is an improvement on past elections and due credit should be given to the government and people of this country.”
(NAN)
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