It also ruled out the possibility of annulling the presidential elections, as was done on June 12, 1993, while advising dissatisfied opposition candidates to seek redress in court.
Despite the irregularities and harsh criticisms of the Independent National Electoral Commission, the Muhammadu Buhari presidency has insisted that the results of the February 25 Presidential and National Assembly elections will stand until otherwise proven in court.
It also ruled out the possibility of annulling the presidential elections, as was done on June 12, 1993, while advising dissatisfied opposition candidates to seek redress in court.
Garba Shehu, Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, revealed this in a piece chronicling key takeaways from the President's recent trip to Doha, Qatar, where he attended the 5th United Nations Summit on Least Developed Countries.
It was reported that long before INEC declared the All Progressives Congress Presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, as the winner of the election, the opposing Peoples Democratic Party and the Labour Party called for the election to be called off due to irregularities.
In a press conference held in Abuja on Monday, February 27, the Vice Presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP), Ifeanyi Okowa and Yusuf Datti, respectively, demanded fresh elections nationwide, claiming that INEC failed to transmit results electronically from the BIVAS to the iREV portal immediately after collation at Polling Units.
However, the electoral body went ahead with the collation process, which resulted in Tinubu receiving over eight million votes to become President-elect.
The ruling APC and the opposing PDP and LP have all formed legal teams to fight in court.
However, according to the Presidency, Buhari remained circumspect about INEC's criticism by "wishful thinkers" because he had long decided not to make any decisions that would jeopardize the electoral process.
The statement reads, “The wishful thinkers appeared to assume that the June 12, 1993 election crisis, the worst ever since the Civil War could be recreated.
“Those who sought to do this forgot what the President said at the palace of the Gbong-Gwon Jos, when he went to the city to inaugurate the Tinubu-Shettima campaign: ‘This election will not be annulled; whoever is the winner will be president.”
Buhari's several assurances to world leaders in Qatar about handing over to a new President on May 29, 2023 were echoed by the presidential spokesman.
Buhari also appealed to Nigerians in Qatar to support Tinubu’s government “so that Nigeria will continue to be the beacon of hope and prosperity in our continent and an example for other African countries to emulate.”