President Muhammadu Buhari today welcomes the ruling of the Supreme
Court of Nigeria, dismissing the case brought before them by former
vice-president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and his party, the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, and again thanks 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 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”.