President Buhari accuses Atiku, Peter Obi of 'inflaming' Nigerians

President Muhammadu Buhari has reacted to the responses of the Peoples Democratic Party's Atiku Abubakar and the Labour Party's Peter Obi, who both accused Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, of compromise and advocated for the nullification of the election.

In his words: “That is not to say the exercise was without fault. For instance, there were technical problems with electronic transmission of the results. Of course, there will be areas that need work to bring further transparency and credibility to the voting procedure. However, none of the issues registered represent a challenge to the freeness and fairness of the elections.

“I know some politicians and candidates may not agree with this view. That too is fine. If any candidate believes they can prove the fraud they claim is committed against them, then bring forward the evidence. If they cannot, then we must conclude that the election was indeed the people’s will – no matter how hard that may be for the losers to accept. If they feel the need to challenge, please take it to the courts, not to the streets.

“However, to do the latter means they are not doing it in the interest of the people, but rather to inflame, to put people in harm’s way and all for personal, selfish gains.

“After a degree of polarization that necessarily accompanies any election, it is now time to come together and act responsibly. I call on all candidates to remember the peace pledge they signed just days before the election. Do not undermine the credibility of INEC. Let us now move forward as one. The people have spoken.”

Why this matters: The Peoples Democratic Party, the Labour Party and the African Democratic Congress have asked the INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, to step aside.

The three parties in a joint press conference on Tuesday, February 28, 2023 in Abuja, alleged that the February 2023 presidential and National Assembly elections were marred with violence, rigging and intimidation of voters.