President Muhammadu Buhari today
welcomed the ruling of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, dismissing the case
brought by former vice-president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and his party, the
Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and appealed to them to work in sync with his
government, with the opposition focusing on its role to hold it to account.
It was the Presidency’s first
reaction to the verdict since it was delivered Wednesday afternoon by a 7-man
panel of justices, headed by Chief Justice Tanko Muhammad..
In the statement by media
adviser, Femi Adesina, Buhari thanked the people of Nigeria for the mandate
they gave to him to run the affairs of the country for another four years.
“The Government – and people of
Nigeria – have been aware that the result of the February 23, 2019,
presidential election has been settled now for some eight months.
‘‘President Buhari was re-elected
by an absolute majority of 55.6 per cent of the national vote, with Nigerians
casting nearly 4 million more votes for President Buhari than his nearest
challenger – representing a margin close to 15 per cent of the total vote.
“The former Vice President and
his political party exercised their rights, under the Nigerian Constitution and
electoral laws, to petition the courts and dispute this result.
‘‘They did so first at the
Presidential Election Petition Tribunal which ruled in September 2019 against
them. Now – following his appeal to the Supreme Court and its ruling to dismiss
their case for “lacking merit” – this matter is now closed.
“The President and Government of
Nigeria do wish to extend our gratitude to former vice-president and his party
for undertaking their campaign through protestations to the courts.
‘‘In this regard they have
conducted themselves in line with the laws of the country they sought to lead.
“Now, following this final legal
bid before the highest court, it is time the country is afforded the right to
move on – in the interest of all Nigerians – regardless of how they voted.
The president said he would now focus solely on addressing the issues that concern the country.
He also challenged the PDP to take up its role of keeping his administration in check.
“The elected President, and his
Government now must be enabled to focus solely on addressing the issues that
concern the country.
‘‘From building economic
empowerment and opportunities for the nearly 200 million Nigerians, 60 percent
of whom are youths bubbling with energy, to defeating the twin ills of
terrorism and corruption, there is much work to do.
“So too must the opposition be
afforded the right to focus directly on their vital role of holding the
administration to account for its decisions.
‘‘The governance of a democracy
only functions as it should when those checks on the executive are in place –
and utilized.
“The opposition, as much as the
government, must now move on – and without the need for further distractions”.
Atiku has since rejected the
verdict of the apex court, alleging that the judiciary has been sabotaged.
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