National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has said that the Supreme Court judgement that affirmed President Muhammadu Buhari’s victory affirms and strengthens democracy.
Tinubu, in a statement he personally signed, said, ‘’The rule of law conclusively affirmed the collective voice of the people by dismissing the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and their presidential candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
The sun rose high in the Nigeria sky today to shine its light over the entire land.” He also commended Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and Atiku “for the energetic electoral campaign they conducted and for their tenacious pursuit of what they believed was their legal remedies”.
He said the PDP and its former presidential candidate should now channel the energy and intellect deployed in the electoral and legal processes toward joining APC “to move this nation more rapidly and assuredly forward.”
The statement entitled: “Presidential Election: Supreme Court Affirms Will of The People” read: “On February 23, the people tendered the foremost expression of their sovereign, democratic will by voting for the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari.
“This decision and this day will be recorded as important milestones on Nigeria’s insuperable march toward perfecting democracy and the rule of law across our land.
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”Democracy has been affirmed and strengthened. By its ruling, the Supreme Court also affirmed that the rule of law is paramount; that the law is to be applied objectively, without regard to fear, friend or foe.
The law is the law. Nothing is to be added to it and nothing subtracted from it. No one should enjoy undue favour or suffer unjust prejudice from its application.
“I thus commend the Supreme Court for its expeditious and highly competent treatment of this important matter. In so doing, it undergirded its reputation as the highest court in the law and the ultimate guardian of the rule of law in our nation.
“I congratulate President Buhari and the entire APC on a well-deserved legal affirmation of a hard-won electoral victory.
The victory is a result of the President’s hard work and of the trust the people have in him as a committed leader. With these electoral and legal victories now behind us, the APC must give due honour to the faith the people have reposed in us.
They expect us to govern in a way that produces the shared prosperity and enlightened future they deserve. We must commit ourselves fully to this profound and august task.
“I must also give due respect to the PDP and former VP Atiku for the energetic electoral campaign they conducted and for their tenacious pursuit of what they believed was their legal remedies.
Although they lost at the polls, they did not seek to overturn the system. Instead, they respected the system that had so often decided in their favour in previous elections and judicial proceedings.
“They behaved like good democrats by seeking redress through the courts as is their right. This was the legal and moral thing to do.
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Although we are political opponents, I must commend them for following the pathways of democracy and peaceful, legal resolution of their grievances.
This is as it ought to be. In an election, there can only be one winner. By conducting themselves as they have, the PDP may not have gained the verdict they wanted in court.
“However, the verdict of history will be that their comportment thus far has helped strengthen our political democracy and its legal safeguards.
I pray that they recognize the importance of this and that this service to the nation provides them a degree of solace going forward.
I ask them to now channel the formidable energy and intellect they deployed in the electoral and legal processes toward joining with us, to the extent possible, to move this nation more rapidly and assuredly forward.
As I stated before, I know the magnanimity of President Buhari. His hand is extended to them in friendship and cooperation.
For the good of the nation, I urge them to take it. “Most importantly, it is fitting to commend the people of Nigeria. You are a law-abiding and good people.
You voted in peace and good faith and you awaited the judicial process in like manner. You expect nothing from government but what it ought to do for you.
You are the backbone and best hope of our land. President Buhari and the APC shall work for your benefit and on your behalf in order to realize our common dream of a better nation.
“Today we moved a step closer to that dream.” ……Sanwo-Olu hails victory Also, in a congratulatory message, Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, described the judgment as “yet another landmark” in the country’s annals.
The Governor said he received the news with “great joy”, noting that the Supreme Court’s judgment had not only consolidated the nation’s democracy but also further strengthened the citizens’ belief in the judicial process.
Sanwo-Olu, in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Gboyega Akosile, said the APC’s victory at the apex court affirmed the will of majority of Nigerians, stressing that the judgment averted the danger of returning the country to the period of plague, which, the Governor said, defined the PDP’s “16 years of misrule.
“Today’s judgment has shattered all hurdles set against the President and has fully set him and his team on the journey to take the country to the Next Level in infrastructural renewal and economic development.
“With great joy in my heart, I have received the news of the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari and my great party, All Progressives Congress, at the Supreme Court today.
This is yet another landmark judgment that will enrich our democratic and political processes. “The judgment is a great relief for all Nigerians after a period of fierce contest and bickering that marred the last general elections.
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The Supreme Court has not only upheld the choice of greater number of Nigerians who chose APC and the President at the polls, it has also affirmed our belief in the judiciary as impartial arbiter whose pronouncements have strengthened our democracy in great leap.
“I felicitate with President Buhari, APC national leaders and all Nigerians on this sweet victory.
The judgment is instructive because it has cleared all hurdles set against our collective march to the next level of good governance heralded by renewed energy to restore the country’s glory in infrastructure, economy and social well-being.
“The nation cannot afford to go back to the period of a plague that characterised the PDP’s 16 years of misrule that pushed the whole country to the edge.
Therefore, I see the judgment as a victory for good governance instituted by the APC-led Federal Government and for all patriotic Nigerians who share our philosophy for the rebirth of a new nation where everything will work.”
