Yahaya Bello, governor of Kogi, has said the election that threw up All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Bola Tinubu, as winner of the presidential election was devoid of irregularities and manipulation.
Bello implored Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar to support Bola Tinubu, the President-elect, to implement his programmes.
Speaking on Friday in an interview on Channels Television, Bello said he was excited that those who lost the February 25 presidential election were taking legal means to address their grievances.
On Wednesday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Tinubu, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the election.
The opposition parties rejected the result of the election over what they described as irregularities and non-compliance to the electoral act.
Meanwhile, Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), and Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had approached the court.
Speaking on the development, the Kogi governor said INEC complied with the rule and regulations in the conduct of the election.
“The presidential and national assembly elections of 2023 have come and gone to the glory of God,” Bello said.
“We have a President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. In every contest, there must be a winner and a loser and of course, you can’t stop those who lost from venting their grievances and pointing out their flaws.
“No system of governance and the electioneering process is perfect. Let me tell you that, substantially, INEC followed their guidelines and the rules of the game.
“Our President-elect today followed all these guidelines and rules and today he has emerged as the President-elect.
“All I could tell my brothers and leaders — Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi — and the multitude of their followers is to please calm down.
“Let’s have Nigeria first. Let’s live in peace. Let’s support Tinubu to implement the laudable programmes and policies that he is coming up with as contained in his roadmap — The Renewed Hope.”
Bello was one of the presidential aspirants of the APC that contested the party’s ticket with Tinubu in June 2022.
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