BREAKING NEWS: Presidential Election: Embrace Tinubu as President-elect, APC tells opposition

Sen. Bola Tinubu has been endorsed as the next president of Nigeria, according to Mr. Ade Omole, director of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) Diaspora Directorate.

In an interview with the Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja, he made the appeal.

Omole asked the opposition to follow the example of world leaders who recognized the necessity, congratulated Tinubu, and acknowledged Tinubu as the president-elect of Nigeria.

Although he acknowledged that there were only a few minor problems in a few states during the presidential election on February 25, he insisted that they were insufficient to cast doubt on the process as a whole.

The representative congratulated Tinubu, a former two-term governor of Lagos State and candidate for the APC’s presidential nomination.

Omole asked members of the opposition parties to put down their weapons and let peace reign rather than inflaming the polity with unproven allegations of electoral fraud during the election.

This, he claimed, was especially true considering that important stakeholders had confirmed the legitimacy of the election.

He observed that once the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) pronounced Tinubu the election’s victor, having complied with the requirements of the Election Act, foreign leaders had also begun congratulating him.

Ned Price (U.S. State Department), who stated that the February 25 presidential election was competitive and marked a new era for Nigerian politics and democracy, was among the world leaders Omole named.

Other foreign leaders, according to him, who thanked Tinubu included Presidents Emmanuel Macron of France, Zelensky of Ukraine, and Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana.

He thought back to Akufo-statement Addo’s that Tinubu’s electoral success will significantly improve the standard of government, the rule of law, and the performance of the Nigerian economy.

He continued by saying that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission and the President of the Republic of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum, had also congratulated Tinubu on becoming the next leader of Nigeria.

He said that Tinubu had received congratulations from Thabo Mbeki, the former president of South Africa and head of the Commonwealth Observation Mission in Nigeria, who also urged Tinubu to stay close to the African continent when he eventually took government.

To take the same path of honor and congratulate Tinubu, who had previously given the olive branch to them, Omole told members of the opposition political parties, especially their presidential hopefuls.

The previous president Goodluck Jonathan did the same thing in 2015 when he conceded loss even before INEC declared President Muhammadu Buhari the winner of that race, saying that this was the least a decent sportsman would do in the face of defeat.

“Jonathan called Buhari to congratulate him while INEC was still compiling the election results. “Even now, that should be the course of action, having seen the likely outcome of the election in the spirit of a good sportsman,” Omole said.

He urged maturity and caution, especially among the political elite, noting that Nigerians had also made their voices heard loud and clear through the electoral process.

He claimed that inflaming politics would be detrimental to everyone because Nigeria was the only place we had to call home.

But, he cautioned that an election is not a war and that security personnel should remain vigilant and deal with anyone or any organization attempting to cause disruption.

“That was an election; the majority has spoken and they will always have their way,” he remarked, despite the fact that the minority would have their voice.

Omole continued by saying that with a Tinubu presidency, the APC was resolved to enthrone good administration and a better life for all Nigerians.

As he waits to be sworn in as the nation’s next president on May 29, he emphasized that Nigerians living abroad were an integral part of the success story and pledged that they would continue to work to defend the mandate and Tinubu’s electoral triumph. (NAN)