Former President Muhammadu Buhari has lauded the Supreme Court for its verdict on the appeals of Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi even as he urged the opposition to take a “break.”
Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party and his Labour Party counterpart, Obi, had sought to overturn the judgment of the petitions tribunal which affirmed Bola Ahmed Tinubu as President.
Both candidates had challenged Tinubu’s eligibility to contest the election, the failure of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to transmit election results electronically, double nomination, a drug forfeiture case in the United States, the President’s academic records, among many other issues.
But the Court in its unanimous verdict dismissed the petitions, saying they lacked merit.
Reacting, Garba Shehu, Buhari’s spokesperson, said the former President described the ruling as a “welcome relief to him and to a majority of the citizens of Nigeria.”
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According to Buhari, the judgement is “a reaffirmation of the will of the majority of the people against the determined will of a hard-fighting minority.”
“Now that we have arrived at the last bus-stop, after a tortuous 8-months of expensive legal journey, the nation deserves a break.
“The opposition has fought a good fight. Having now exhausted their rights as constitutionally allowed, they should take the hand of fellowship extended by the Tinubu/Shettima government.
“Let them allow the government to run their administration and the people to enjoy the full benefits of the promises the All Progressives Congress (APC) made,” the statement read.
The former president however wished President Tinubu and his team a successful term in office.
