By Abimbola Ogunnaike
President Muhammadu Buhari of the ruling All Progressive Congress(APC) has stated that challenges encountered during the February 25th general elections did not pose a challenge to the transparency of the electoral process.
The President stated this in a statement where he congratulated the winner of the just concluded presidential election, Bola Tinubu, saying that he is best the man for the job.
According to Buhari, it is not that the exercise was without fault but that “none of the issues registered represent a challenge to the freeness and fairness of the elections”.
President Buhari while agreeing that there were technical problems with electronic transmission of the results, stated that there will be areas that need work to bring further transparency and credibility to the voting procedure.
Buhari also stated that within Nigeria, the results reveal democracy’s ripening in the country, adding that never has the electoral map shifted so drastically in one cycle.
“In the presidential elections, states in all regions across the nation changed colour. Some amongst you may have noticed my home state amongst them.
“The winning candidate did not carry his own home state either. That happens during a competitive election. Votes and those that cast them cannot be taken for granted. Each must be earned. Competition is good for our democracy.
“There is no doubt the people’s decision has been rendered in the results we look at today,” the President emphasized.