FULL TEXT: What President Buhari Said After INEC Declared Tinubu President-elect

What President Buhari said after INEC declared Tinubu President-elect has emerged.

Newsone had reported earlier that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the 2023 presidential election.

This online news platform understands that the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu declared Tinubu the winner at exactly 4.10 am today in Abuja. By this declaration, Tinubu would be the 16th leader of Nigeria since independence in 1960.

The former Lagos state governor polled total votes of 8,794,726 to defeat his closest rival and the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar who scored 6,984,520 votes, and Peter Obi of Labour party who polled 6,101,533 votes.

Newsone Nigeria reports that the presidential candidate of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso came a distant fourth with total votes of 1,496,687 votes.

Yakubu said the registered voters for the election were 93,469,008, while 25,286,616 voters were accredited.

The INEC Chairman put the total valid votes at 24,025,940, while the total rejected votes were 939,278. He said the total number of votes cast was 24,965,218.

He declared: “I certify that I am the returning officer for the 2023 presidential election held on the 25th of February 2003.

“That Tinubu Bola Ahmed of the APC, having satisfied the requirements of the law is hereby declared the winner and returned elected. The Certificate of Return to the president-elect and Vice president-elect will take place here at 3 pm today.”

Reacting to Tinubu’s emergence, President Muhammadu Buhari congratulated Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC for winning the 2023 Presidential Election.

The outgoing President Buhari spoke through a statement by his media aide, Garba Shehu on Wednesday morning.

According to Buhari, “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 President said for 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.

He said, “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 amongst you may have noticed my home state amongst 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”.

Buhari went further to state that competition was good for democracy, adding that “there is no doubt the people’s decision has been rendered in the results we look at today.”

The President admitted that that was not to say the exercise was without fault.

In his words, “for instance, there were technical problems with electronic transmission of the results. Of course, there will be areas that need work to bring further transparency and credibility to the voting procedure.”

He said none of the issues registered represent a challenge to the freeness and fairness of the elections.

“I know some politicians and candidates may not agree with this view. That too is fine. If any candidate believes they can prove the fraud they claim is committed against them, then bring forward the evidence.

“If they cannot, then we must conclude that the election was indeed the people’s will – no matter how hard that may be for the losers to accept. If they feel the need to challenge, please take it to the courts, not to the streets,” he tasked the losers.

President Buhari, therefore, warned that to go contrary to this path means they are not doing it in the interest of the people, but rather to inflame, to put people in harm’s way and all for personal, selfish gains.

The President also advised all contenders in the just concluded elections saying after a degree of polarization that necessarily accompanies any election, it is now time to come together and act responsibly.

“I call on all candidates to remember the peace pledge they signed just days before the election. Do not undermine the credibility of INEC. Let us now move forward as one. The people have spoken,” he said.