Supreme Court: This Matter Is Now Closed Nigeria Must Now ‘Move On’ – Buhari

  • Says the matter has been resolved eight months ago.
  • Urges PDP to perform their constitutional role by keeping the government in check.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday welcomed the ruling of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, which dismissed the case petition of former vice-president, Atiku Abubakar and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Reacting to the court ruling in a statement signed by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Buhari again expressed his appreciation to the people of Nigeria for the mandate they gave to him to run the affairs of the country for another four years.

READ: Supreme Court Judgement: All Lies And Deceit Have Come to A Crushing Halt – Keyamo

“The Government – and people of Nigeria – have been aware that the result of February 23, 2019, presidential election has been settled now for some eight months.

‘‘President Buhari was re-elected by an absolute majority of 55.6 percent of the national vote, with Nigerians casting nearly 4 million more votes for President Buhari than his nearest challenger – representing a margin close to 15 percent of the total vote.

“The former Vice President and his political party exercised their rights, under the Nigerian Constitution and electoral laws, to petition the courts and dispute this result.

‘‘They did so first at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal which ruled in September 2019 against them. Now – following his appeal to the Supreme Court and its ruling to dismiss their case for “lacking merit” – this matter is now closed.”

In line with the law

Buhari expressed gratitude to the former vice-president and his party for undertaking their campaign through protestations to the courts. He also said this shows that they have conducted themselves in line with the laws of the country they sought to lead.

“Now, following this final legal bid before the highest court, it is time the country is afforded the right to move on – in the interest of all Nigerians – regardless of how they voted. The elected President and his Government now must be enabled to focus solely on addressing the issues that concern the country.

Buhari noted that there is work to be done from fighting corruption to building economic empowerment and opportunities for the nearly 200 million Nigerians with 60 percent of them being youths bubbling with energy.

He, therefore, urged the PDP to focus directly on their vital role of holding the administration to account for its decisions.

‘‘The governance of democracy only functions as it should when those checks on the executive are in place – and utilized.

“The opposition, as much as the government, must now move on – and without the need for further distractions”.

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