- More plaudits for Tinubu on Supreme Court victory
- We must respect apex court as final arbiter – Minister
- Hard times will soon be over, Otu assures Nigerians
- Atiku , Obi should congratulate Tinubu – Ben Bruce
The euphoria that greeted Tinubu’s Supreme Court victory in the petition filed against him by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Mr. Peter Obi, the candidates of PDP and LP in the February 25 presidential election, continued yesterday with individuals and groups admonishing aggrieved parties to bury the hatchet and work for the nation’s progress.
Leading the charge was former President Goodluck Jonathan, who reminded Nigerians that elections were over and it was time for the nation to move forward.
In apparent corroboration of Jonathan’s stance, a former Senator representing Bayelsa East in the National Assembly, Ben Murray Bruce, urged both Atiku and Obi to put their differences with the President aside and congratulate him over his election as Nigeria’s President.
Doing so, he said, is only right, fitting and sportsmanly.
More congratulatory messages also poured in from former and serving governors and other statesmen, some of whom expressed optimism that with the distractions caused by the legal battle now over, the President can face the task of governance squarely for the nation to get over the hard times.
Former President Jonathan, who spoke after a closed-door meeting with President Tinubu at the State House, Abuja, called on political leaders, especially former Presidents, to come together to ensure that citizens do not suffer.
He also asserted that the ability of Nigeria to lead the African continent has become a consensus among African countries.
He said: “We need to bring all our political leaders, including all our former Presidents, together. If top leaders continue fighting, they will not suffer that much, but the downtrodden will suffer, and we want to end that tension so we move forward.
“Elections are over and so we must move forward.”
Jonathan also said that Nigeria has all it takes to lead the black continent despite the current economic challenges facing the nation.
“That is what all Africans are saying. I had a programme on democracy dialogue and Prof Lumumba spoke there. He emphasised the need for Nigeria to take the lead in Africa.
“Yes, we have challenges economically now, but we still have what it takes to lead Africa.
“These are some of the issues I will continue to have conversations with Mr President on, including briefing him on all my foreign programmes.
“They are not personal issues. Traditionally, former Presidents, when they go outside the country for continental or regional programmes and even some international ones, when you come home you brief the President. That is the tradition.
“Most times when you see me here, that is what we come to do, to move Nigeria forward, to move ECOWAS forward and to move the African continent forward,” the former President said.
He added that he seized the opportunity of the visit to update President Tinubu about his regional and continental engagements, and to also congratulate him on his victory at the Supreme Court.
He said: “I have been involved in a number of things in West Africa and Africa. In fact tomorrow, I will be in Kenya and on the 14th of November I will be in Liberia. So I am like a roving Ambassador, seeing how we can bring peace to the sub-region and the continent.
“My visit would have taken place since last week but it couldn’t hold. Today, it has now coincided with the judgment of the Supreme Court of yesterday, so it is an opportunity for me to also congratulate Mr President.
“We talked a lot about the country. You will see more of me because there are certain things we discussed and the country must move forward,” Jonathan added.
Acknowledging the current economic concerns, he added that the country will overcome its financial trials with adequate support for the government.
“That is what all Africans are saying. When my foundation had a programme on democracy dialogue and Professor Lumumba spoke there, he emphasized the need for Nigeria to take a lead in Africa.
“Yes, we have challenges economically now, but we still have what it takes to lead Africa,” he said.
Congratulate President now, Ben Bruce tells Atiku, Obi
In a message he posted on his X handle, Senator Bruce said it is only right, fitting, and sportsmanly for both Atiku and Obi to congratulate President Bola Tinubu for his victory in the 2023 elections.
He said: “There must be an end to litigation, and the Supreme Court must end it. All talk by some persons that ‘Bola Tinubu is not my President’ is frivolous and unhelpful.
“As long as you call yourself a citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, you do not have ‘your’ President. Nigeria has a President, and whether you like it or not, he presides over you as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and Head of the State.
“The Peoples Democratic Party must now play their role as Nigeria’s most viable opposition party. It is incumbent on them to work on unifying their ranks.
“Disunity and treachery against President Goodluck Jonathan cost them the 2015 election. Disunity also cost them this election. If they allow it to repeat itself a third time, they are done.
“To the youths of Nigeria, do not allow anybody, whether candidate, party or TV station, to set you against the government. The future is yours, as Millennials, not ours, the fifties and sixties generation. Use it well. Organise now for 2027 or agonise when it is 2027.”
Diri: Why I visited President at Presidential Villa
The Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, said as a sitting governor, there was nothing unusual in his visit to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa on Thursday.
Speaking at Igbedi community in Constituency 2 of Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of the state during the visit of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship campaign train, Diri said he was at liberty to congratulate President Tinubu following the Supreme Court verdict on the presidential election.
A statement by his spokesperson and member of the Publicity Directorate of the Bayelsa PDP Governorship Campaign Council, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, quoted the governor as saying he was at the Presidential Villa to discuss serious state matters with the President, whom he said attended to the issues positively.
He contended that he was not disturbed by the speculations and lies of the opposition, whom he said became jittery because of the visit, stressing that propaganda had been the hallmark of their politics.
Diri said: “Yesterday (Thursday), I was in Abuja and most of you saw the video trending. The opposition is now jittery and are telling lies. Of course, that is in their character.
“As a sitting governor, there is a sitting President and I do not owe them any explanation about my visit to the President.
“If the Supreme Court affirms the President of the country, as a sitting governor, I reserve all the rights to visit him. But beyond that, I went for very serious state business and I can tell you that Mr. President attended to all the issues I raised.
Hard times will soon be over, Gov Otu assures Nigerians
Cross River State Governor, Bassey Out, yesterday assured Nigerians of better days ahead under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, insisting that the current hard times will soon become history.
He spoke shortly after paying a congratulatory visit to the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, on the victory of President Tinubu and the party at the Supreme Court on Thursday.
The elated governor observed that both the apex court verdict and what the country was going through now was God’s design to take the country forward.
Out, who was reacting to the Supreme Court judgment, said: “We are very happy. Actually, that was God’s design and we have to take Nigeria forward.
“We are facing very difficult times now, but we know that better days are ahead. You know anything you do in this world to get maximum success, there has to be a level of sacrifice.
“We are paying for those days when the subsidy should have been withdrawn a long time ago. But we believe that the way the economy is going now, not too long we will be able to stabilise and move forward,” he assured Nigerians.
On why he was at Muhammadu Buhari House – APC national headquarters, the governor said: “I came to congratulate the national chairman of the greatest party in Africa and to thank all our party faithful that have shown fidelity as far as this trouble is concerned.
“We believe this is a stepping stone. We are going to achieve greater heights.
“My position on this has always been no victor, no vanquished, so long as the common denominator was to serve our people; so long as there is unity of purpose was to take Nigeria to the next level.”
He then called on the opposition candidates, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and his Labour Party (LP) counterpart, Peter Obi to join hands with President Tinubu to build a great country.
Afenifere: Coast clear for Tinubu to serve diligently
Afenifere leader, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, yesterday congratulated President Ahmed Bola Tinubu on his victory at the apex court.
He said in a statement by the group’s Publicity Secretary, Comrade Jare Ajayi, that the coast is clear for him to serve diligently.
He said the judgment has produced monumental effects.
Fasoranti stressed: “Monumental because of the clarifications made in respect of certain aspects of our electoral processes. One of such was the pronouncements made regarding the position of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Ditto for the position of the law in regard to the deadline for filing papers relating to elections”.
Fasoranti lauded the justices that adjudicated on the cases “for being so painstaking in their assignments.”
He said: “What they did and how it was done have further enhanced the image of the judiciary positively.”
Fasoranti congratulated Nigerians for the peaceful atmosphere that, on the whole, characterised the electoral and judiciary processes.
He reminded the President about some of the issues he had raised with him, particularly security.
Fasoranti stressed: “It is a matter of concern that insecurity is still being experienced. This can be seen in the upsurge in banditry, kidnapping, herdsmen and attacks on farmers, cultism and even terrorism”.
He said President Bola Tinubu “is now on a firmer ground to execute noble ideas contained in his Renewed Hope Agenda so as to make life more abundant for Nigerians.”
We must respect apex court as final arbiter – Minister
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has appealed to all political opponents to join hands with the government to move the country forward.
Idris, who briefed the press following the Supreme Court affirmation of President Tinubu as the winner of the 2023 presidential election, said the judgment of the apex court must be respected.
Jonathan said: “Our differences in terms of political leanings will always be there. But it is important that now that the Supreme Court, which is the final arbiter in this judgment has spoken, we should all respect that and come together, unite for Nigeria in the interest of our country.
“The time will come again when politics will reopen and the things you want to say, provided they are constructive, will be allowed. But for now please let us unite in the interest of Nigeria.
“Now that the legal contest regarding the outcome of the Presidential election is now behind us, it is time for all of us to come together and move forward into a season of governing that is without distraction,” Idris said.
Mr. Jonathan added that President Tinubu has made it clear that he will be a President for all Nigerians, regardless of regional, ethnic, partisan or religious affiliations.
The minister said the administration will continue to strive to rebuild the trust of citizens in the ways and workings of government, and boost the credibility of public information and communication.
Judgment affirms Nigerians’ trust in Tinubu —Are
The Otun Baba Adinni of Lagos, Chief Mutiu Are, in his congratulatory message to President Tinubu, described his victory as “a resounding affirmation” of the trust and mandate bestowed on him by the Nigerian people.
Jonathan said: “Your leadership journey from May 29, 2023 to May 29, 2027 has been validated and solidified.
This outcome not only reinforces the will of the Nigerian citizens who freely chose you as their leader but also reaffirms the strength and integrity of our democratic processes.
“As the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, this victory is a testament to your dedication, vision, and your ability to connect with the aspirations of the people.
“I would also like to extend heartfelt congratulations to the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, whose commitment and contribution have been pivotal in this success.
“Your partnership and collaborative efforts are a testament to the unity and resolve within your administration.
“Furthermore, I offer my sincere congratulations to our esteemed First Lady, Yeye Asiwaju Remi Tinubu, whose unwavering support has undoubtedly been a source of strength and encouragement for you.
“As we celebrate this momentous victory, I join millions of Nigerians in earnest prayers for your continued good health, longevity, and the wisdom to lead our great nation to greater heights.
“May your leadership be characterised by peace, progress and prosperity, and may you guide Nigeria through the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.”
