Factional leader of the Labour Party’s (LP) Lamidi Apapa, has asked its 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Atiku Abubakar, to concede defeat and congratulate President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The spokesman of the LP faction, Abayomi Arabambi, made this known in a statement issued in Abuja on Saturday.
Arabambi urged them to borrow a leaf from President George Weah, who conceded defeat to former Vice President Joseph Boakai in the just concluded Liberian presidential election.
He said that both Weah and Boakai have proven that any election is neither a do-or-die affair nor a war that must be won at all costs.
Stating that former President Goodluck Jonathan also toed the same line, Arabambi urged Atiku and Obi to join Tinubu in rebuilding the country.
“The time is ripe for former Vice-President and PDP presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and former Governor of Anambra State and presidential candidate of LP, Mr. Peter Obi to congratulate President Bola Tinubu after they had explored all the opportunities availed by the Constitution and the Electoral Act.
“The incumbent, who in spite of losing his second term as President yesterday did not wait for anyone before he congratulated the winner. As a responsible leader, the former President Goodluck Jonathan also did the same like George Weah, and today he is being reckoned with as a great pillar of democracy.
“Labour Party therefore appeal to Obi’ and Atiku to support the administration and have faith in ongoing reforms. We had expected the duo would bury the hatchet and join hands with the President in delivering the Renewed Hope Agenda. Nigerian leaders should emulate this spirit of sportsmanship,” Arambabi detailed.
Recall that Boakai, who previously served as the 29th vice president of Liberia under former President Ellen Sirleaf Johnson from 2006 to 2018, had defeated the incumbent, George Weah.
Weah, a former recipient of World Footballer of the Year award, had conceded defeat after the country’s electoral umpire announced Boakai as the winner with 50.9 per cent of the vote with Weah garnering 49.1 per cent.
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Meanwhile, Obi congratulated President-elect, Boakai, for winning the peoples mandate during the election.
According to Obi, Liberia has set a high bar for other African countries regarding how the Electoral Commission conducted and concluded the elections without rancour and litigation.
He wrote via X on Saturday: “I have followed with very keen interest, the just concluded and seamless Presidential elections in our West African neighbour, Liberia. I congratulate the declared winner, former Vice President and now President-elect of Liberia, H.E. Joseph N. Bokai of the Unity Party.
“I also extend my congratulations to the president, H.E. George Weah, who has graciously conceded defeat, and thank him especially for his exemplary respect for democracy and the rule of law.
“Finally, I’d like to especially congratulate the entire people of Liberia, and salute their National institutions, particularly the Electoral Commission of Liberia who by their respective exemplary conducts, have added fillip to the credibility of the elections, and in so doing, strengthened democracy in Liberia and Africa.
“Liberia has set a high bar for African countries to follow in the way they have conducted and concluded the Presidential elections without rancour and litigation. I wish them well and a smooth transition and continuity in governance.”
