presidential and National Assembly elections are verified and authentic.
The UK’s statement comes amidst claims by the PDP and other political
parties that the elections was married by electoral irregularities and
fraud.
UK’s minister of state for Africa, Harriett Baldwin, in a statement
released, said the results declared by INEC are authentic and consistent
with the civil society parallel vote tabulation process.
“I offer my congratulations to President Buhari on securing a second
term as the Nigerian President. The UK is a long-standing friend and
partner of Nigeria and the Nigerian people, and a stable and prosperous
Nigeria benefits Africa and the world. The Nigerian people have
demonstrated resilience and a commitment to democracy.The result declared by the Nigerian election commission is consistent
with the result obtained through the civil society Parallel Vote
Tabulation process. Along with our international partners, the UK
believes the Nigerian people can have confidence in the result.” the
statement read
The statement further stated that the UK government expects anyone in
doubt of the authenticity of the results, should contest it in the most
civil manner.
“We also recognise that independent Nigerian voices have expressed
concerns about the conduct of the electoral process, in particular
logistics and results collation, and reports of intimidation of election
officials.“We urge any party or individual who wishes to challenge the process
to do so peacefully and through the appropriate legal channel and we
encourage Nigerian authorities to examine all allegations of wrongdoing
carefully, and take the necessary action against individuals found
responsible.“My thoughts are also with the families and friends of those who lost
their lives in election-related violence. No one should die in the
exercise of their democratic rights. We will continue to support Nigeria
and its civil society in drawing lessons from these elections and
strengthening its democracy.” the statement read
President Buhari’s main contender, Atiku Abubakar of the PDP has
since rejected the results and indicated he will be challenging it in
court.
