Peter Obi Urges US To Wait For Court Verdict Before Legitimising Tinubu’s Victory
LAGOS MAY 19TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, said the basis of the telephone conversation between Antony Blinken, US secretary of state, and Bola Tinubu, president-elect, is unclear.
In a series of tweets posted on Friday, Obi said the US should wait for the presidential election tribunal’s verdict before conferring legitimacy.
Blinken had called Tinubu on Tuesday and pledged to strengthen the relations between the US and Nigeria.
During their conversation, Tinubu promised to hit the ground running and unify the country upon his assumption of office on May 29. He also pledged to ensure positive relations with the United States.
The President-elect said that among his immediate priorities would be to deliver institutional reforms and development programs to deepen our democratic institutions and bring help to poor and vulnerable Nigerians.
He also expressed his determination to strengthen Nigeria’s democracy and faithfully serve the people as their president.
During the talks that lasted about 20 minutes, Tinubu spoke about his eventful sojourn in America in the 70s, where he graduated with honours as an accountant in 1979.
He also recalled how he was granted asylum by the US when, due to his determined struggle for democracy in Nigeria, he was forced into exile by the late General Sani Abacha’s military junta.
Reacting to the phone conversation, Peter Obi said: “There is still a lack of clarity on the basis of the U.S. Secretary of State, Antony J. Blinken’s call to APC’s presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu on 16th May 2023. The most fundamental tenet and core value of democracy is the rule of law.
“Nigeria’s democracy is founded on these principles which the American people hold dear. Without the risk of interfering in Nigeria’s domestic affairs, the U.S.-Nigeria relationship should be guided by the core values of democracy.
“Above all, Nigerians expect that the U.S. responses to our affairs should be based on mutual respect, shared ideals, aspirations and interests which ought to transcend the considerations of any individual.
“Contextually, the willful manipulation and falsification of the will of Nigerians as freely expressed during the February 25 elections cannot be overlooked by the true friends and partners of Nigeria.”
The former governor of Anambra added that the “final determination of the true winner of the election can only be made” by the relevant courts of law.
“More so, the issues in judicial contention imply far-reaching violations of both the Nigerian electoral law and the Nigerian constitution,” he added.
Obi’s reaction came few days after the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, also faulted the telephone conversation between Antony Blinken and Tinubu.
Atiku described the reported conversation as “demoralising.”
He said with the call, the US was acknowledging what he described as a “fraudulent election” in Nigeria.
Atiku, who was Tinubu’s challenger during the February 25, 2023 presidential election, said he was in “disbelief” with the telephone conversation.
He added that the call was a contradiction to the US earlier position on the election.
“I am in disbelief that @SecBlinken called Tinubu, a contradiction to the publicly stated position of the US on Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election. This is inconceivable considering that America, as the bastion of democracy, is well briefed on the sham election of February 25.
“To give legitimacy to the widely acknowledged fraudulent election in Nigeria can be demoralising to citizens who have hedged their bet on democracy and the sanctity of the ballot,” he wrote.
Tinubu, a former Lagos State governor, was declared the president-elect after he polled 8,794,726 votes to win the 2023 presidential election.
But both Atiku, and his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi, had rejected the results with the duo claiming to have won the election. They are presently in court challenging the election outcome.
PM NEWS
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Posted by News Rangers
on May 19 2023. Filed under National.
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