Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the winner of the 2023 Presidential Election.
This was disclosed in a statement by the media aide to the Presidency, Bashir Ahmad on Wednesday morning.
The President also admitted that INEC experienced technical problems with the electronic transmission of the results
Elected by the people: President Buhari stated that he is prepared to work with Tinubu as he was elected by the people, he 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.”
- “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.
Ripening Democracy: He urged that the results reveal democracy’s ripening in Nigeria, as the electoral map has drastically changed, he added:
- ” 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 of you may have noticed my home state among 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 that people’s decision has been rendered in the results we look at today.
Faults: Buhari in his statement noted that the exercise also had its faults, citing that there were technical problems with the electronic transmission of the results, he said:
- “That is not to say the exercise was without fault. For instance, there were technical problems with the 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 represents a challenge to the freeness and fairness of the elections”
Buhari added that after a degree of polarization that necessarily accompanies any election, it is now time to come together and act responsibly, he called on all candidates to remember the peace pledge they signed just days before the election
Tinubu, who was former Governor of Lagos State, garnered total votes of 8,794,726 to defeat his major rivals; Atiku Abubakar of the People Democratic Party (PDP) who polled 6,984,520 votes, and Peter Obi of the Labour Party who secured 6,101,533 votes.
