‘Democracy And The People Have Won’

Former President Muhammadu Buhari has hailed the verdict of the Presidential Election Petitions Court (PEPC) on the outcome of the 2023 election.

Naija News reported that the tribunal  affirmed the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February 25, 2023, presidential election, Bola Tinubu, as the rightful winner of the electoral process on Wednesday.

The tribunal, while ruling on whether the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was right to return Tinubu as the duly elected by a majority of lawful votes cast, held that the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar did not successfully prove his petition seeking to remove Tinubu from office.

The petitions filed by the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) were also struck out by the tribunal for lack of merit.

In a statement on Wednesday by his media aide, Garba Shehu, the former President expressed his happiness with the verdict and rejoiced with his successor, President Tinubu, on the affirmation of his election.

Buhari said the tribunal had written history by rejecting intimidation and all manner of prejudice to deliver justice according to law to a majority of citizens whose wish was that the choices they made were respected.

He also thanked all Nigerians for maintaining peace throughout the post-election period and prayed for continued progress and development under the APC government.

The former leader also felicitated Vice President Kashim Shettima and the All Progressives Congress (APC) on the victory in court, expressing his best wishes to them in fulfilling the people’s aspirations.

He said: “If anybody has won today, it is the democracy and the people.

“With the verdict of the Supreme Court, the election period is over, and it is time to put the heat and dust behind us.

“From here, the new APC administration led by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu should get the support of everyone in order to deliver the promises it made to the people.”