ELECTION VICTORY: US, UK, France salute Nigeria’s President-elect

*America acknowledges expressed frustration in manner of conduct

*Appeal to complaining citizens to embrace peace, backs their concerns, seeking redress through established legal ‘mechanisms’

*As 3 western nations pledge to partner incoming Tinubu’s govt

By By BASHIR ADEFAKA

Two days after declaration of Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Saturday February 25, 2023 presidential election in Nigeria, members of the international community, precisely the United States of America, United Kingdom and France, have communicated their congratulatory messages to him in their respective patterns.

The DEFENDER reports that the APC presidential candidate was declared winner of the keenly contested, though generally controversial, election at 4:10am on Wednesday March 1, 2023 by Chairman of the country’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu.

His Certificate of Return and that of his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima, were later in the day presented to both single-ticket bearing candidates by the INEC chairman, in Abuja, having been earlier declared, in accordance with provisions of the Constitution, Electoral Law 2022 (As Amended) and INEC Guidelines for the conduct of the 2023 General Elections.

Tinubu won in the long-awaited transition election process with 8,794,726 votes to defeat his closest rival, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who scored 6,984,520 votes to push the Labour Party (LP)’s Dr. Peter Obi to the third position having gotten 6,101,533 votes in an election exercise in which New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP)’s Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso settled for fourth position having scored 1,496,689.

This online newspaper also reports that last Saturday’s presidential election is the first in the 24-year Nigeria’s Fourth Republic that four major parties would emerge as relevant in their own rights with NNPP appearing to be one one state-focused party having beaten presidential candidate of ruling APC in Kano and is satisfied with that, until next execution season.

The election also saw the LP now emerging as new bride in the new Nigeria political order having beaten Nigeria’s indisputably strongest political juggernaut, Tinubu of ruling APC, in his historic stronghold of Lagos State, beat him in the seat of government where the ruling party has reigned since eight years and still went ahead to win Nasarawa, Plateau states in Northern Nigeria and seven others across the country.

United States

The United States, through its State Department spokesman Ned Price, congratulated Nigeria and Tinubu, on Thursday.

“The United States congratulates the people of Nigeria, president-elect Tinubu and all the political leaders,” Price said.

“This competitive election represents a new period for Nigerian politics and democracy,” he added.

Price acknowledged the dissatisfaction among some Nigerians over the validity of the results, but called on the largest African country to embrace peace.

“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 said, 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 added.

United Kingdom

Also, the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, yesterday, congratulated Tinubu on election victory via Twitter.

“Congratulations to Bola Ahmed Tinubu on his victory in Nigeria,” Sunak tweeted Wednesday.

Sunak affirmed that, “The UK-Nigeria relationship remains strong. 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.”

France

In the same vein, President Emmanuel Macron of France congratulated the former Lagos state governor on his victory at the polls.

Tinubu made this known while fielding questions from journalists after the presentation of his Certificate of Return.

He said he has received many congratulatory messages within and outside Nigeria, mentioning French President as one of them.

”Oh very many, many of that, in fact as far as Europe, the stock market reacted positively well, there was a goodwill message from Macron, the President of France,” Tinubu said.