US, UK congratulate Tinubu on Nigeria election win as legal challenge looms

By Hassan Isilow

JOHANNESBURG (AA) – The US and UK have congratulated Bola Tinubu on his victory in Nigeria’s Feb. 25 presidential election, despite lingering uncertainty over the win as the opposition plans to mount a legal challenge.

“We call on all parties, candidates, and supporters to refrain from violence or inflammatory rhetoric at this critical time,” Ned Price, spokesperson for the State Department, said in a statement on Wednesday.

Many Nigerians have raised concerns after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) decided to manually transmit results, opting against using an existing instant transmission system.

The main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has announced it will challenge the results in court.

According to the official count, Tinubu took top spot in the presidential race with 8.7 million votes, followed by the PDP’s Atiku Abubakar on 6.9 million and Labor Party candidate Peter Obi with 6.1 million.

“We understand that many Nigerians and some of the parties have expressed frustration about the manner in which the process was conducted and the shortcomings of technical elements that were used for the first time in a presidential election cycle,” Price said.

“There are well-established mechanisms in place for the adjudication of electoral disputes, and we encourage any candidate or party seeking to challenge the outcome to pursue redress through those mechanisms,” he added. 

The US joins “other international observers in urging INEC to improve in the areas that need the most attention ahead of the March 11 gubernatorial elections,” the statement further said.

Over in the UK, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak took to Twitter to congratulate Tinubu on his win.

“The UK-Nigeria relationship remains strong. I look forward to working together to grow our security and trade ties, opening up opportunities for businesses and creating prosperity in both our countries,” he said.

Tinubu, 70, will succeed President Muhammadu Buhari as the leader of Africa’s largest democracy and economy.

Buhari became president in 2015 and his tenure was marked by security threats and economic issues.

The country of some 206 million remains bedeviled by challenges of insecurity, including terrorism and armed conflict, as well as financial instability.​​​​​​​