United States has congratulated the people of Nigeria, President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and all political leaders following the declaration by Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on the results of the February 25th presidential election.
In a Press Briefing on Wednesday, the States Department Spokesman, Ned Price who disclosed this, said this competitive election represents a new period for Nigerian politics and democracy.
According to him, “Each of the top three candidates was the leading vote-getter in 12 states, a remarkable first in Nigeria’s modern political era, reflecting the diversity of views that characterized the campaign and the wishes of Nigeria’s voters”.
Adding that United States understand that many Nigerians and some of the parties have expressed frustration about the manner in which the process was conducted and the shortcomings of technical elements that were used for the first time in a presidential election cycle in Nigeria.
“Nigerians are clearly within their rights to have such concerns and should have high expectations for their electoral processes. We join other international observers in urging INEC to improve in the areas that need the most attention ahead of the March 11 gubernatorial elections”, he said.
Price stated that there are well-established mechanisms in place for the adjudication of electoral disputes, “and we encourage any candidate or any party seeking to challenge the outcome to pursue redress through those mechanisms.
United States called on all parties, candidates, and supporters to refrain from violence or inflammatory rhetoric at this critical time.
While commending the active participation of civil society and the media for advocating electoral for advancing electoral norms and political discourse on issues of importance to Nigeria’s citizens.
United States noted with concern reports that numerous members of the media were attacked during the course of the election.
Urging the government, security forces, political actors, and all citizens to respect the media’s critical role by refraining from any damaging acts against them and ensuring accountability for such acts when they do occur.
Meanwhile, United States also congratulated the Nigerian people, especially the large number of youths who are relatively new to the political process, for demonstrating their strong commitment to their country’s democracy.
Also, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak on behalf of his country congratulated President- elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the outcome of the Saturday’s Presidential elections.
He said the UK-Nigeria relationship remains strong while looking forward to working together to grow the country’s security and trade ties, opening up opportunities for businesses and creating prosperity in both the countries.
