Nigeria’s President-Elect, Bola Tinubu, has assured citizens of being a fair leader to all.
Development Diaries reports that the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, Wednesday declared Tinubu as winner of the 2023 presidential election.
The candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) polled 8,794,726 votes.
In his acceptance speech, he thanked Nigerians for believing in democracy, while promising to work with citizens to deliver a better nation.
‘Finally, I thank the Nigerian people for their abiding belief in our democracy. I shall be a fair leader to all Nigerians. I will be in tune with your aspirations, charge up your energies and harness your talents to deliver a nation that we can be proud of’, he said.
What next?
The campaigns are over, and the winner has emerged. Tinubu and his team now have a duty to start engaging citizens, many of whom are divided along religious and ethnic lines.
First, he should address Nigerians by calling for calm, as a way to douse the already existing tensions caused by grievances from opposition parties and their supporters.
One thing that was significant with the president-elect and his team during electioneering was the use of abusive words among some candidates and their spokespersons.
Development Diaries calls on the president-elect to directly communicate with Nigerians, listen to their concerns, and reassure them of his promise to make the nation better.
The president-elect should be able to answer the questions of Nigerians now that he has been declared winner, and not delegate the duty of communication to those around him as was seen during the campaigns.
In his acceptance speech, he extended a hand of friendship to the opposition candidates which is commendable and should be practical, not just mere words.
By extension, the supporters of the president-elect should also refrain from throwing out abusive and taunting words to supporters of other candidates for the sake of peace.
As is expected, aggrieved parties can take their grievances to court, and it is expected that the judiciary plays its part when the time comes.
Photo source: APC
