Addis Ababa, March 4. The Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, has congratulated pro-government candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu on his victory in Nigeria’s February 25 presidential election, despite the fact that the opposition has questioned the result of the fraud of course.
In a statement issued last night from AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Mahamat ‘warmly’ congratulated Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party for ‘declaring himself the winner of the presidential election’ .
The Chairperson of the Commission (Secretariat) also commended the Nigerian people “for showing resilience in their commitment to democratic values by voting for the leaders of their choice.”
In this sense, Mahamat urged “all interested parties to defend peace and the rule of law” and called for “any post-election dispute or grievance to be brought before the judicial system, as provided by law”. .
Tinubu, 70, was declared the winner last Wednesday with 36% of the vote (8.79 million votes), according to figures from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Atiku Abubakar, 76, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, came second with 29% of the vote (6.98 million), while third place was taken by Peter Obi, 61, a Party candidate. labor. Party (LP), which won 25% of the vote (6.1 million).
INEC announced the results after the two opposition parties had already called for the cancellation and re-run of the elections accusing the electorate of fraud.
Obi and Abubakar said Thursday they would appeal the results in court, although they did not provide further details.
The opposition accuses the CENI of fraud after the electronic transmission of the results of the polling stations could not be carried out in full.
It was the first time that Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa (more than 213 million inhabitants), used this technology during general elections, adopted to prevent possible irregularities.
Tinubu will succeed incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari, in power since 2015, who did not seek re-election after serving the second consecutive four-year term allowed by the Constitution.
The president-elect, who ruled influential southern Lagos State from 1999 to 2007, inherits a nation plagued by growing insecurity in parts of the country, with constant attacks by criminal gangs who kidnap civilians against a lucrative ransom, jihadist groups and independence rebels.
It will also have to tackle the devaluation of the naira, runaway inflation and high unemployment, although Nigeria stands out as Africa’s top oil producer and the continent’s largest economy. ECE
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