President Bola Tinubu will be prepared to work with his major political rivals, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and Peter Obi of the Labour Party, LP, in fulfilment of his proposed government of national unity.
Former senator representing Zamfara Central senatorial district, Kabiru Marafa, dropped this hint at the weekend in Abuja, while speaking with State House correspondents after meeting behind closed doors with President Bola Tinubu.
Senator Marafa said what the President would do with his political opponents in the February 25 presidential elections would depend on their attitude from the point the apex court delivered its judgment.
It will be recalled that the Supreme Court had last Thursday, dismissed the appeals filed by both the presidential candidates of the PDP and the LP against the declaration of Tinubu as the winner of the 2023 presidential election.
Fielding questions on whether the President would fulfill his pledge of government of national unity, as the court processes were over, the All progressives Congress, APC, chieftain said his (President) rivals needed to put up a good behaviour to encourage him.
He said: “I am not Mr. President but I like the way you put the question ‘do you think’? I know Mr. President is a politician and he knows the game very well.
”He is the one to decide to say; now should I go ahead to form a government of national unity like I wanted to or having seen the behaviour of the participants, I should abandon it?
“Their behaviour from Thursday, I think, will determine what the president will do. If they take the judgment with open hearts and extend a hand of friendship to Mr. President, I know the president will want to work with everybody.
”Governance is something you need all hands on deck to succeed, especially in a complex country like Nigeria.”
He asserted that the former rivals must bury their differences and work together for the sake of the country, saying with the challenges in the land, the president would require all hands on deck to succeed.
Senator Mafara added: “My prayer and wish for them is to bury their differences and join hands with Mr. President to move the country forward, especially given the problems we have across the nation.
“So, we need all hands on deck now. It is over. They have done what they are supposed to have done. The constitution gives them inherent rights to challenge the victory. But with the verdict of the apex court, the battle is over.
“Like the president said, he is going to concentrate on his job without giving anybody any opportunity to distract him. So, on their part, I wish they would join hands with Mr. President to move the country forward.
“When I lost election, I congratulated the person who defeated me. I also promised that the best thing I can give the people of Zamfara Central is to cooperate with whoever they choose to be their senator to move the zone forward, because they elected me twice and I won convincingly in the two elections.
“So, if now somebody says I lost, I think I should accept the fact that in any game, there are winners and there are losers. Yesterday, I was the winner and today, I lost. I should accept it and move forward, tomorrow is another day.
“So, I expect also at national level for our elders to do the same. They have exhausted their rights. So, it is over. Let us now move to building Nigeria. Let us now look at the plight of the masses.
“You know things are very difficult and hard, which is occasioned by the removal of subsidy which is a must. I was the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum Downstream. So, I know what is happening in the area. Also, the rate of the dollar is adding to the difficulties in the country.”
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