The United States has congratulated Nigeria on the election of Bola Tinubu, while calling for calm amid accusations of voter fraud and concerns over technical glitches.
U.S Secretary of State, Antony Blinken discussed the election aftermath when he met his Nigerian counterpart, Geoffrey Onyeama, on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit in New Delhi on Thursday, March 2, 2023, aides disclosed.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, March 1, 2023, State Department Spokesman, Ned Price, congratulated President-elect Bola Tinubu.
“This competitive election represents a new period for Nigerian politics and democracy,” Ned Price iterated.
Price acknowledged the discontent among some Nigerians over the validity of the results, as at least one opposition figure has promised to dispute the outcome.
“We understand that many Nigerians and some of the parties have expressed frustration about the manner in which the process was conducted,” he said.
“Nigerians are clearly within their rights to have such concerns and should have high expectations for their electoral process,” Price added, urging political leaders to register their concerns through established legal “mechanisms.”
“We call on all parties to refrain from violence or inflammatory rhetoric at this critical time,” Price advised.
UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak also lauded Tinubu’s victory. Both the UK and Nigeria share a longstanding relationship that has withstood the latter’s over-62-year independence from the former.
“Congratulations to @officialABAT on his victory in Nigeria. The UK-Nigeria relationship remains strong,” Sunak tweeted on Wednesday evening.
“I look forward to working together to grow our security and trade ties, opening up opportunities for businesses and creating prosperity in both our countries.”
Rishi Sunak
Also on Wednesday, March 1, 2023, President-elect, Bola Tinubu and Vice President-elect, Kashim Shettima visited President Muhammadu Buhari in his hometown of Daura, Katsina State.
Tinubu and Shettima presented their certificates of return, which they had received hours earlier from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to President Buhari.
“It was my pleasure to receive His Excellency the President-Elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and His Excellency the Vice President-Elect, Senator Kashim Shettima, at home in Daura, today,” Buhari tweeted.
“Two men who are true believers in Nigeria and genuinely committed to progress & development,” he added.
The President-elect was accompanied by some All Progressives Congress (APC) Governors, including Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna, Dapo Abiodun of Ogun and Abubakar Bagudu of Kebbi.
Tinubu Begins Reconciliation Moves
The President-Elect, Bola Tinubu has set up committees to meet aggrieved presidential candidates to start the “healing process”.
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State and a member of the committees made this disclosure in a statement.
Akeredolu noted that a Committee of Elders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) would soon begin to meet with co-contestants of the President-elect in a bid to assuage their loss in the just concluded poll.
He stressed that every aggrieved person will be met for reconciliation.
“The President-elect has set up committees to meet with the gentlemen who contested in the election for us to start the healing process. I belong to one of the committees. We are going to meet them and appeal to them so that we can work together.”
Rotimi Akeredolu, Governor of Ondo State
However, top opposition parties in the election like Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Labour Party (LP) and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) have rejected the outcome of the poll, saying the electoral body failed to play by the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 on electronic transmission of results.
The opposition parties have also threatened to head to court to challenge the outcome of the poll.
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