UK, US congratulate Tinubu, want electoral irregularities addressed

The US and UK governments on Wednesday sent messages of congratulations to Nigeria’s president-elect, Bola Tinubu, as he acknowledged irregularities in Saturday’s polls.

“Congratulations to @officialABAT on the victory in Nigeria,” the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted.

He expressed his willingness to work with Mr. Tinubu to develop security and trade ties, open opportunities for business and create prosperity.

“UK-Nigerian relations remain strong,” he said.

In a separate congratulatory message, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly commended Nigerian voters for their participation, patience and resilience in exercising their democratic rights.

“We note the position of the opposition parties regarding the election results and the concerns expressed by the observer mission and civil society regarding the organization of the process, including delays and technical challenges,” said Mr. Cleverly.

He encouraged the authorities to look into all concerns carefully, take action to resolve outstanding issues and focus on delivering the will of Nigerians.

Also, the US State Department spokesperson, Ned Price, congratulated Tinubu and all political leaders on the results of the presidential election.

He described the election as competitive and representing a new period for Nigerian politics and democracy.

“Each of the top three candidates is the leading vote-getter in 12 countries, very good for the first time in Nigeria’s modern political era, reflecting the diversity of views that characterize the campaign and the wishes of Nigerian voters,” Mr. Price said in a statement.

He acknowledged that many Nigerians and some parties have expressed their frustration with the way the process was conducted and the lack of technical elements used for the first time in the presidential election cycle.

“Nigerians clearly have the right to have these concerns and should have high expectations for the electoral process. We join other international observers in asking INEC to improve in areas that need the most attention before the March 11 governorship election,” added Price.

He encouraged parties seeking to challenge election results to use established mechanisms to adjudicate electoral disputes; adding that all parties, candidates, and supporters should refrain from violence or inflammatory rhetoric at this critical time.

Complain

The PDP and LP on Tuesday called for the annulment of the results. He made the position at a press conference attended by the vice presidential aspirants, Ifeanyi Okowa and Datti Baba-Ahmed.

“This election is fake, and it was never free and fair,” said Mr. Okowa of the PDP, a position reinforced by the LP vice-presidential candidate.

The main grouse is that INEC has failed to upload election results in over 170,000 polling units to the central server (IReV) as required by law. These steps should be taken before the collection and announcement of results, he said.

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At the press conference, the two parties also demanded that the chairman of INEC, Mahmood Yakubu, must get rid of what they described as electoral irregularities and malfeasance. INEC has since responded, saying its chairman will not resign and that any party aggrieved by the electoral process must follow the law to lodge a complaint.