Governor Sani Bello Commends Niger Residents for Elections Conduct

Governor Abubakar Sani Bello has applauded the people of Niger State across party lines for the peaceful conduct of the February 25, 2023 Presidential and National Assembly elections.

The Governor in a statement said despite the economy hardship, voters came out to vote in the 25 local government areas of and in a relatively peaceful atmosphere.

According to him, “I commend you all for your resilience to perform your civic responsibility despite the current cash crunch in the country.

Governor Sani Bello specially appreciated the people of Niger North Senatorial District and the entire All Progressives Congress APC supporters across the state for voting him as the Senator of the Zone and other candidates of the Party that stood in for the last Saturday’s elections.

He called on the general public to remain peaceful and law-abiding in the state even after the winner is announced at the National Collation Centre, Abuja.

The Governor reiterated that his administration will not take it lightly with any individual or group of persons trying to foment or incite violence in the state.
While assuring his commitment to the betterment of the State and victory of the Party, he enjoined all the APC supporters to again come out en masse to vote for all candidates of the Party in the Governorship and State Assembly elections on the 11th of March, 2023.

INEC ANNOUNCES BOLA TINUBU WINNER OF 2023 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

The Independent National Electoral Commission has announced the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as the President Elect having scored the majority of lawful votes cast in the 2023 Presidential Election.

INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, made the announcement at the end of the collation of results at the National Collation Centre in Abuja.

The APC Candidate polled 8, 794, 726 votes to beat Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party who polled 6, 984, 520 to the Second position.

Candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, came in third position with 6,101,533 Votes while Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of the New Nigerian Peoples Party polled 1, 496, 687.

The former Lagos State Governor who is now President Elect scored the highest number of Valid votes cast in the Election including meeting the Constitutional requirement of scoring at least 35 percent in 30 States of the 36 States and the FCT.

BUHARI CONGRATULATES TINUBU ON ELECTION AS PRESIDENT

President Muhammadu Buhari heartily congratulates the winner of the (2023) Presidential Election, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Reacting to the results just announced, President Buhari said:

“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 election was Africa’s largest democratic exercise. In 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.

“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. Competition is good for our democracy. There is no doubt the people’s decision has been rendered in the results we look at today.

“That is not to say the exercise was without fault. 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. However, 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.

“However, to do the latter 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.

“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.”

FG To Obasanjo: Don’t Truncate Electoral Process

The Minister expressed shock and disbelief that a former President could throw around unverified claims and amplify wild allegations picked up from the street against the electoral process.

”Though masquerading as an unbiased and concerned elder statesman, former President Obasanjo is in reality a known partisan who is bent on thwarting, by subterfuge, the choice of millions of Nigerian voters,” he said.

Alhaji Mohammed recalled that the former President, in his time, organized perhaps the worst election since Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999, hence he is the least qualified to advise a
President whose determined effort to leave a legacy of free, fair, credible and transparent election is well acknowledged within and outside Nigeria.
”As the whole nation waits with bated breath for the result of last Saturday’s national elections, amid unnecessary tension created by professional complainants and political jesters, what is expected from a self-respecting elder statesman are words and actions that douse tension and serve as a soothing balm.

”Instead, former President Obasanjo used his unsolicited letter to insinuate, or perhaps wish for, an inconclusive election and a descent into anarchy; used his time to cast aspersion on electoral officials who are unable to defend themselves, while surreptitiously seeking to dress his personal choice in the garb of the people’s choice. This is duplicitous,” he said.

The Minister reminded the former President that organizing elections in Nigeria is not a mean feat, considering that the voter population of 93,469,008 in the country is 16,742,916 more than the total number of registered voters, at 76,726,092, in 14 West African nations put together. ”With a deployment of over 1,265,227 electoral officials, the infusion of technology to enhance the electoral process and the logistical nightmare of sending election materials across our vast country, INEC seems to be availing itself creditably, going by the preliminary reports of the ECOWAS Electoral Observation Mission and the Commonwealth Observer Group, among other groups that observed the election.
”Therefore, those arrogating to themselves the power to cancel an election and unilaterally fix a date for a new one, ostensibly to ameliorate perceived electoral infractions, should please exercise restraint and allow the official electoral body to conclude its duty by announcing the results of the 2023 national elections.

”After that, anyone who is aggrieved must follow the stipulated legal process put in place to adjudicate electoral disputes, instead of threatening fire and conjuring apocalypse,” he said.