UK,  African leaders congratulate Buhari on re-election; I am confident of victory, all hope not lost –Atiku; Obasanjo keeps mum over election result; Osinbajo cuts ‘Next Level Cake’

By Temitope Ponle/ Ismaila Chafe/ Emmanuel Oloniruha/ Olawale Jokotoye

Abuja, Feb. 27, 2019 (NAN)

The UK Government has congratulated President Muhammadu Buhari on securing a second term as president.

A statement from the British High Commission in Abuja on Wednesday, quoted the Minister of State for Africa, Harriett Baldwin, as saying “I offer my congratulations to President Buhari on securing a second term as the Nigerian President.

“The UK is a long-standing friend and partner of Nigeria and the Nigerian people and a stable and prosperous Nigeria benefits Africa and the world.”

Baldwin commended Nigerians for their resilience and commitment to democracy.

She said the results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were consistent with the results obtained through the civil society Parallel Vote Tabulation process.

“Along with our international partners, the UK believes the Nigerian people can have confidence in the result.”

She, however, recognised the concerns expressed by Nigerians on the conduct of the electoral process, in particular logistics and results collation, and reports of intimidation of electoral officers.

The minister urged any party or individual who wished to challenge the process to do so peacefully and through the appropriate legal channel.

“We encourage Nigerian authorities to examine all allegations of wrongdoing carefully, and take the necessary action against individuals found responsible’’.

She also condoled with the families and friends of those who lost their lives in election-related violence.

“No one should die in the exercise of their democratic rights,” she stated.

She reiterated the continued support of the UK Government to Nigeria and its civil society “in drawing lessons from these elections and strengthening its democracy”.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Wednesday declared President Buhari the winner of the 2019 Presidential Elections.

Meanwhile, President Buhari has continued to receive congratulatory messages over his re-election from more African leaders across the continent.

Mallam Garba Shehu, President’s spokesman in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday, said,  King Mohammed VI of the Kingdom of Morocco, in a message, described President Buhari’s victory as an affirmation of the level of confidence Nigerians had in their President.

The King, he said, promised to work with President Buhari to advance the interests of both countries.

‘‘Your re-election is a testimony to the level of confidence that you enjoy among the people of Nigeria, attributable to your wisdom, experience in politics, sense of engagement and devotion to the service and the protection of the interests of the country especially as they relate to the prosperity, wellbeing and security of your people.’’ King Mohammed VI said in his congratulatory message.

The monarch expressed satisfaction with the existing cordial and fraternal African relationship linking the two leaders, their people, and nations.

He reiterated his determination to work in concert with President Buhari to reinforce the mutually beneficial relationship between Morocco and Nigeria and to give it a new impetus to serve as a model on the African continent.

Also, President Alpha Conde of Guinea who extended his congratulations, described the re-election of President Buhari as a dose of hope for the West African region.

Conde expressed confidence that the cordial relations between Nigeria and Guinea would continue to get better.

Earlier, President Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger, who was the first leader to call President Buhari minutes after the INEC declared him the winner of the 2019 presidential elections, said he looked forward to working with the Nigerian leader to further strengthen Nigeria-Niger relations.

The Presidential aide revealed Buhari had also received congratulatory messages from Presidents Nana Koffi-Addo of Ghana and Macky Sall of Senegal.

INEC on Wednesday in Abuja presented a Certificate of Return to President Buhari.

The certificate was presented to the President by the Returning Officer of the election, who is also the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.

Yakubu first invited the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, who in turn invited the President-Elect, Muhammadu Buhari, to sign and collect the Certificate of Return.

INEC had earlier on Wednesday declared President Buhari, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of the 2019 presidential election.

Speaking at the event, the president assured Nigerians that they would soon see “a country moving to the `Next Level’ as the APC-led administration consolidates on its achievements”.

President Buhari also pledged to continue to engage all parties as his administration would be operating an open government for the general progress of the country.

He, however, vowed to continue the fight against corruption, saying accumulation of public wealth would not be tolerated.

The president, who thanked God for the electoral victory, also reiterated his call on all APC supporters not to gloat or humiliate the opposition, saying “victory is enough reward for your efforts”.

Personalities at the event included APC State Governors, Cabinet Ministers, Security Chiefs, Heads of Para-Military agencies, Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, and the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Yusuf Bichi.

Others were the Director-General, National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Amb. Ahmed Rufa’I, presidential aides and political appointees as well as the chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole.

The National Leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and family members of both the President and the Vice-President also witnessed the event.

However, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar  has said that all hope is not lost, in spite of the declaration of President Muhammadu Buhari as the winner of Saturday’s election by the  INEC.

Atiku in an earlier statement on Wednesday had rejected the outcome of the election, saying he was heading to court.

Atiku at a world press conference in Abuja, he commended Nigerians for choosing democracy and for voting for him on Saturday, urging them to remain calm.

“For my fellow Nigerians who feel angry, disillusion and let down by the process, I appeal to you to remain calm and steadfast, Rome was not built in a day.

“We have the real figures, we have the facts that have spoken so loudly on Saturday, February 23, 2019.

“As I have always said, this year is my three decades in Nigeria’s struggle for democracy, and this is the worst election in those 30 years.

“I told Gen. Abdsulsalami Abubakar two nights ago when he called me that not even the military conducted such a worst election.

“This is a long journey but I am confident of victory. All hope is not lost, stay strong. By the grace of God we shall triumph,” he said.

Abubakar said that “Democracy is the government of the people and by the people only when the people’s choice prevails”.

He alleged that on the election day, Nigerians witnessed the implementation of grand theft of the people’s will.

He said that in Akwa Ibom for instance, the result showed a statistical impossibility of a 62 per cent drop in voters’ numbers from the 2015 elections, even where voter registration and Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) collection rates were much higher.

“This is why voter suppression took place.

“This pattern was repeated in strongholds of PDP including in states like Delta, Rivers, Abia and Benue States.

“As this was occurring, we saw another statistical impossibility where the real numbers tallied in numbers increased astronomically in Borno State by an almost miraculous 82 per cent in the midst of insecurity.

“This pattern was also repeated in other strongholds of the APC states.

“One begins to ask if insecurity is conducive to higher voter turnout and security is antithetical to high voter turnout,” he said.

Atiku said that it was curious that the PDP’s margin of victory in states outside the South/East and South/South were extremely slim across board, describing it again as a statistical impossibility.

He said that the figures declared by INEC as results of Feb. 23 elections “do not add up at all’’.

“My dear Nigerians, it is for this reason that I Atiku Abubakar reject the result declared by the INEC which declared Muhammadu Buhari as duly returned by the majority of the lawful votes.

“I am conferring with not just my party but also Nigerian people on the next step which will be revealed to the public shortly,’’ he said.

He, however, urged the international investors and friends of Nigeria not to poll out of the country

Meanwhile, as congratulatory messages continued to pour in from within and outside the country over the re-election of President Buhari, former President, Olusegun Obasanjo has kept mum over the development.

The INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, in the early hours of Wednesday declared Buhari winner of the Saturday’s presidential polls.

Prominent and well-meaning Nigerians as well as international leaders have since been commending and congratulating Buhari over his victory in the election, widely adjudged as peaceful and credible.

Obasanjo,who had been quite vocal in the build-up to the election, however, appears to have suddenly gone into hiding by keeping silent since the result was announced.

Telephone calls made to Obasanjo’s Media Aide, Mr Kehinde Akinyemi, by the correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) were not picked while text messages sent to him for reaction were neither acknowledged nor replied.

NAN recalls that Obasanjo, had severally castigated Buhari, and openly campaigned against him few months to the election.

The former president also endorsed and adopted Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the major opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), whom he had once accused and condemned over corruption claims.

He had also told Nigerians that God would not forgive him (Obasanjo) if he ever supported Atiku to be president.

He, however, later changed political gear to ensure that Buhari was not re-elected.

The presidency has however repeatedly asked Nigerians to ignore Mr Obasanjo, saying Mr Buhari’s performance in office was enough to earn him re-election.

From the results announced by INEC, Buhari had defeated Atiku in Obasanjo’s polling unit in Abeokuta and also scored a total of 15,191,847 to defeat Atiku, his closest rival who scored 11,262,978 votes.

In a related development, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday in Abuja cut the `Next Level cake’ in celebration of the victory of the APC in the Feb. 23 presidential election.

The cake crested with Next Level/ 4+4 was presented by the staff of the Office of the Vice President at the Presidential Villa.

Next Level and 4+4 were campaign slogans of APC in recently concluded presidential election.

Osinbajo, before cutting, sang the Next Level song with the staff who gathered round the cake, `we are going higher, higher, we are going higher….’

Prayers were also said for the success of President Buhari and Osinbajo in their second term.

Buhari and Osinbajo had earlier on Wednesday received certificates of return as President-elect and Vice President-elect.