President Muhammadu Buhari has advised the opposition, especially the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to assume its role of holding the government to account.
His advice today, October 30, came on the heels of the Supreme Court verdict that dismissed the case brought before them by former vice-president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In a statement, President Buhari thanked Nigerians for the mandate they gave to him to run the affairs of the country for another four years.
“From building economic empowerment and opportunities for the nearly 200 million Nigerians, 60 percent of whom are youths bubbling with energy, to defeating the twin ills of terrorism and corruption, there is much work to do.
“So too must the opposition be afforded the right to focus directly on their vital role of holding the administration to account for its decisions.
‘‘The governance of a 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.”
Saying that with the Supreme Court verdict, the result of the February 23, 2019 presidential election has been settled after eight months, Buhari said that 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.
President Buhari was re-elected by an absolute majority of 55.6 per cent 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 per cent of the total vote.
In the statement, President Buhari recalled that Atiku and his political party exercised their rights, under the Nigerian Constitution and electoral laws, to petition the courts and dispute the result, and extended gratitude to Atiku and his party for undertaking their campaign through protestations to the courts.
‘‘In this regard they have conducted themselves in line with the laws of the country they sought to lead.”
