Poll challenge: Atiku, PDP acted within nation’s laws ― Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has praised former Vice President and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar and his party for acting within the law in their challenge in court, over his victory in the February 2019 presidential election.

In a reaction to the Supreme Court verdict affirming the president’s election on Wednesday, Buhari expressed his gratitude to both the former Vice President and the opposition party for the way they acted.

He hoped that his administration will now be enabled to carry out its mandate now that the legal challenge has come to an end.

A statement issued by Garba Shehu Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity) said: “The President and Government of Nigeria do wish to extend our gratitude to former Vice-President and his party for undertaking their campaign through protestations to the courts.

‘‘In this regard, they have conducted themselves in line with the laws of the country they sought to lead.

“Now, following this final legal bid before the highest court, it is time the country is afforded the right to move on – in the interest of all Nigerians – regardless of how they voted.

“The elected President and his Government now must be enabled to focus solely on addressing the issues that concern the country.

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‘‘From building economic empowerment and opportunities for the nearly 200 million Nigerians, 60 per cent of whom are youths bubbling with energy, to defeating the twin ills of terrorism and corruption, there is much work to do.

“So too must the opposition be afforded the right to focus directly on their vital role of holding the administration to account for its decisions.

‘‘The governance of democracy only functions as it should when those checks on the executive are in place and utilised.

“The opposition, as much as the government, must now move on and without the need for further distractions.”

The statement said Buhari welcomed the ruling of the apex court dismissing the case brought before them by Atiku Abubakar and the PDP and thanked Nigerians for the mandates they gave to him to run the affairs of the country for another four years.

The statement added: “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.”