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LAGOS. – Nigeria’s outgoing president Muhammadu Buhari yesterday hailed the victory of his party’s presidential candidate Bola Tinubu, saying that “the people have spoken”, hours after the announcement of the result disputed by the opposition.
“I congratulate His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his victory. Elected by the people, he is the best person for the job. I will now work with him and his team to ensure a smooth transfer of power,” Buhari wrote on his Twitter account.
“There is no doubt that the people’s decision has been rendered in the results we are seeing today,” he added, as the opposition contests the election and calls for its annulment, denouncing “massive” fraud by the ruling party.
President Buhari, 80, who retires after two terms (as required by the Constitution) at the head of Africa’s most populous country, asked candidates who “feel the need to challenge this election (…) to go to court and not to the street.
He also dismissed criticism of the lack of independence of the National Electoral Commission (Inec) from the government, saying: “Do not undermine the credibility of the Inec. Let’s go forward as one man. The people have spoken.”
However, he acknowledged flaws in the electoral process, particularly in the electronic transmission of results, which was being tested for the first time at the national level.
Many domestic and foreign observers have deplored these “shortcomings” and regretted a lack of “transparency.
But according to Buhari, they are not a big enough “problem” to affect the “fairness” of the election.
More than 87 million people cast their ballots and voting was generally calm.
On Tuesday night, the Electoral Commission declared Tinubu “winner and elected” of the presidential election, with more than 8.8 million votes, winning one of the most contested elections in Nigeria’s history.
Tinubu, 70, a former governor of Lagos (southwest), is nicknamed “the godfather” because of his immense political influence. For four years, he will have the difficult task of turning around the English-speaking giant, which has been plagued by a sluggish economy, recurrent violence by jihadist groups and bandits, and widespread impoverishment of the population.
He is widely credited with reshaping Nigeria’s commercial hub Lagos.
Tinubu struck a unified tone while speaking to the nation for the first time after his victory in Saturday’s election.
“Together, we shall build a brighter and more productive society for today, tomorrow and for years to come,” he said from a packed party headquarters in the capital, Abuja.
Wearing his signature red hat with the imprint of a chain, which represents a broken shackle — something he’s previously said is emblematic of the fractured nation that he will break free of poverty — he greeted ecstatic supporters into the early hours of the morning.
In Lagos, voters acknowledged glitches but backed the electoral Commission’s final say.
“It’s obvious that the elections did not go well in some places, but INEC have done their thing, and they have announced the winner,” Chioma Opirum said.
The parties now have three weeks to appeal results, but an election can be invalidated only if it’s proven the national electoral body largely didn’t follow the law and acted in ways that could have changed the result. – AP
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter