© 2019 - International Centre for Investigative Reporting
Buhari asks supporters not to gloat or humiliate opposition
PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has urged his supporters not to gloat or humiliate supporters of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) while celebrating his electoral victory.
Buhari said this during his appreciation speech after being declared the winner of the 2019 presidential election held on Saturday, February 23.
Mahmood Yakubu, the national chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced that Buhari polled over 15 million votes to defeat his main challenger, Abubakar Atiku of the PDP who polled a little over 11 million votes.
While thanking Nigerians “for judging me worthy of continuing to serve you and for your peaceful conduct”, Buhari expressed regret for the people who lost their lives as a result of violence caused by some “troublemakers” in their attempt to “disrupt an otherwise orderly process”.
“Security agencies will bring to justice all those arrested in the process,” he promised, adding that security will be stepped up to protect voters in the forthcoming State elections.
“I would like to make a special appeal to my supporters not to gloat or humiliate the opposition. Victory is enough reward for your efforts,” Buhari said.
He also commended the several domestic and international observers who monitored the elections for their interest in Nigeria’s developing democracy.
Already, supporters of President Buhari’s All Progressives Congress have been celebrating wildly in several cities across the country. In Abuja, many of them could be seen on riding on their motorbikes at breakneck speed with Buhari’s posters covering their backs and bodies, and shouting on top of their voices, ‘Sai Baba, Sai Baba’.
Meanwhile, Atiku has rejected the results declared by INEC, saying that the process was grossly rigged and that he would challenge the result in court.
“In my democratic struggles for the past three decades, I have never seen our democracy so debased as it was on Saturday, February 23, 2019,” Atiku stated on Wednesday.
