President Muhammadu Buhari has reacted to the Supreme Court ruling affirming his victory in the February presidential election.
The Peoples Democratic Party and its presidential candidate in the election, Atiku Abubakar, had sued the ruling All Progressives Congress and its candidate in the election, Buhari.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court gave the final verdict on the highly charged case.
Reacting to the verdict through his media aide, Femi Adesina, President Muhammadu Buhari, who is currently in Riyadh for an international summit, welcomed the ruling.
“He also thanked Nigerians for the mandate they gave to him to run the affairs of the country for another four years,” Adesina said.
The statement reads in part, “The Government — and people of Nigeria — have been aware that the result of 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 four 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.
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‘‘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 per cent 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 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”.
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