APC’s Tinubu Reacts As Supreme Court Affirms Buhari’s Election

The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has congratulated President Muhammadu Buhari over his victory at the Supreme Court.

Naija News reported that the Supreme Court had on Wednesday dismissed the case instituted by Atiku Abubakar and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against the 2019 election victory of President Buhari, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The seven-man panel of the court, headed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Tanko Mohammed in a unanimous judgement, affirmed that President Muhammadu Buhari was validly elected as Nigeria’s President in the February 23 presidential election.

Reacting in a statement he personally signed, Tinubu said the rule of law conclusively affirmed the collective voice of the people by dismissing the petition filed by the PDP and Atiku Abubakar.

The former Lagos State govenror also commended PDP and Atiku for the energetic electoral campaign they conducted and for their tenacious pursuit of what they believed was their legal remedies.

He also urged the PDP and Atiku to channel the energy and intellect deployed in the electoral and legal processes toward joining APC to move Nigeria more rapidly and assuredly forward.

The statement reads: “I congratulate President Buhari and the entire APC on a well-deserved legal affirmation of a hard-won electoral victory. The victory is a result of the President’s hard work and of the trust the people have in him as a committed leader. With these electoral and legal victories now behind us, the APC must give due honour to the faith the people have reposed in us. They expect us to govern in a way that produces the shared prosperity and enlightened future they deserve. We must commit ourselves fully to this profound and august task.

“I must also give due respect to the PDP and former VP Atiku for the energetic electoral campaign they conducted and for their tenacious pursuit of what they believed was their legal remedies. Although they lost at the polls, they did not seek to overturn the system. Instead, they respected the system that had so often decided in their favour in previous elections and judicial proceedings.

“They behaved like good democrats by seeking redress through the courts as is their right. This was the legal and moral thing to do. Although we are political opponents, I must commend them for following the pathways of democracy and peaceful, legal resolution of their grievances. This is as it ought to be. In an election there can only be one winner. By conducting themselves as they have, the PDP may not have gained the verdict they wanted in court.

“However, the verdict of history will be that their comportment thus far has helped strengthen our political democracy and its legal safeguards. I pray that they recognize the importance of this and that this service to the nation provides them with a degree of solace going forward. I ask them to now channel the formidable energy and intellect they deployed in the electoral and legal processes toward joining with us, to the extent possible, to move this nation more rapidly and assuredly forward. As I stated before, I know the magnanimity of President Buhari. His hand is extended to them in friendship and cooperation. For the good of the nation, I urge them to take it.”