…My Olive Branch Remains a Toast to the Opposition…Buhari

…As an Avowed Democrat, My Judicial Route Has Come to a Close…Atiku

President Muhammadu Buhari has welcomed the ruling of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, dismissing the case brought by former Vice-President, Mr Atiku Abubakar and his party, the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, and appealed to them to work in sync with his government, with the opposition focusing on its role to hold it to account.

It was the Presidency’s first reaction to the verdict since it was delivered Wednesday afternoon by a 7-man panel of justices, headed by Chief Justice Tanko Muhammad.

In the statement by Media Adviser, Mr Femi Adesina, Buhari thanked the people of Nigeria for the mandate they gave to him to run the affairs of the country for another four years.

“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 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.

“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.

The Presidential Candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Abubakar has said that he fought a good fight and will not relent for Nigeria and democracy.

Atiku’s comment is coming on the heels of the dismissal of his appeal at the Supreme Court.

The apex court had earlier on Wednesday, dismissed the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, challenging the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari in the presidential election of February 23, 2019.

Speaking on behalf of a 7-man panel, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad stated that members of the panel had read all the documents and exhibits filed in the case for about two weeks and discovered that the appeal was lacking in merit.

Reacting to the decision, Atiku said he must accept that the judicial route which he chose to take, as a Democrat, has come to a conclusion.

“While I believe that only God is infallible everywhere, and only Nigerians are infallible in our democracy, I must accept that the judicial route I chose to take, as a Democrat, has come to a conclusion.

“Whether justice was done, is left to the Nigerian people to decide. As a democrat, I fought a good fight for the Nigerian people. I will keep on fighting for Nigeria and for democracy, and also for justice.”

He stated that Nigeria as a country needs a strong judiciary and an impartial electoral umpire.

“In a democracy, you need a strong judiciary, a free press, and an impartial electoral umpire. Nigeria has none of those three elements as at today. One man, one woman, one youth, one vote, should be the only way to make gains in a democracy. And when that is thwarted, the clock starts to tick.

“The Nigerian judiciary, just like every estate of our realm, has been sabotaged and undermined by an overreaching and dictatorial cabal, who have undone almost all the democratic progress the People’s Democratic Party and its administrations nurtured for sixteen years, up until 2015.”

Atiku insisted that he remains focused on Nigeria and he remains strong.

“To those who think they have broken my spirit, I am sorry to disappoint you. I am too focused on Nigeria to think about myself. I gave up that luxury twenty years ago. The question is not if I am broken. The question is if Nigeria is whole?

“I was a democrat, I am a democrat, and I will always continue to be a democrat. May God bless Nigeria,” he added.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has expressed shock at the Wednesday judgment of the Supreme Court on the Presidential Election Petition filed by the party and its Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

The party expressed the shock in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, on Wednesday in Abuja, while reacting to the Supreme Court judgment that upheld the election of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Ologbondiyan said the party was awaiting the Supreme Court to release the details of its judgment to see how it arrived at it

He contended that what was witnessed in the judgment was not what majority of Nigerians who participated and observed the presidential election expected, including the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He said that the PDP indeed made a solid case, with indisputable evidence, showing that Abubakar won the Presidential election.

Ologbondiyan said that the party was as such surprised that the justices of the Supreme Court held otherwise.

“However, that is the highest court of the land.