The United States on Wednesday congratulated Nigeria on the election of ruling party presidential candidate Bola Tinubu, while calling for calm amid accusations of voter fraud and concerns over technical glitches.
Tinubu was declared the winner Tuesday of the February 25 polls in Africa’s most populous democracy.
“The United States congratulates the people of Nigeria, president-elect Tinubu and all the political leaders,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
“This competitive election represents a new period for Nigerian politics and democracy,” he added.
According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Tinubu, the candidate for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), won 8.8 million votes, while main opposition candidates Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi snagged 6.9 million and 6.1 million, respectively.
Price acknowledged the discontent among some Nigerians over the validity of the results, as at least one opposition figure has promised to dispute the outcome.
“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.”
Nigerian officials had hoped new biometric voter identification technology would make the election the cleanest yet, but malfunctions, long delays and slow results have fueled the accusations of fraud.
“We call on all parties to refrain from violence or inflammatory rhetoric at this critical time,” Price said.
France
President Emmanuel Macron of France has congratulated Nigeria’s President-elect, Sen. Bola Tinubu, on his victory in the February 25 election.
The President-elect confirmed this to newsmen after presenting his Certificate of Return to President Buhari in his country home, Daura, Katsina State, on Wednesday night, March 1.
Recall that Tinubu had earlier on Wednesday received the Certificate of Return from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja before embarking on the trip to Daura alongside his Vice President-elect, Sen. Kashim Shettima.
Tinubu, who was reacting to questions on messages of congratulations he so far received since his declaration by INEC as President-elect, said
”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.”
On his mission to Daura, the president-elect said
”I came to present the certificate of return to him (Buhari) as the party leader and commend his efforts in supporting democracy in Africa.”
Niger
Mohamed Bazoum @mohamedbazoum
A M.Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu,
Président élu du Nigeria.
@officialABAT
APC Presidential Campaign Council @APCPresCC2022
Congratulatory message from *H.E* Mohamed Bazoum, President Of Niger Republic
Emir of Kano
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