By Rotimi Ojomoyela
Ado Ekiti-Nigerians in the diaspora have advised the Peoples Democratic Party against contesting the result of the just concluded presidential election in court, saying such move would constitute major distraction to President Muhammadu Buhari
The United States of America based group, under the auspices of Nigeria Coalition for Change, also supported the idea of Government of National Unity being suggested to Buhari to further unify the nation.
Atiku Abubakar GCON
The body advised the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar , to accept the verdict of the people by being gallant in defeat.
The group charged the electorate not to elect governors based on political consideration but on competence and vision they have for the people in the March 9 poll.
A statement from Washington DC, USA and signed by its chairman, Mr Samuel Ayodele, Secretary, Ali Abubakar Sadiq and Coordinator, Julius Adewumi , on Tuesday, praised the Indepedent National Electoral Commission and security agencies for partnering to conduct a substantially compliant presidential election that attracts global commendation.
The coalition congratulated President Buhari and urged him not to disappoint Nigerians who reposed confidence in his personality and competence.
The group urged the electoral commission to correct imbalances noticed in the Presidential and national assembly elections in the Saturday State Assembly and governorship polls.
The coalition added that Atiku, having benefited from the electorate in the past by winning through a joint ticket with former president Olusegun Obssanjo in 1999 and 2003 should accept the outcome and work to reposition PDP ahead of 2023.
“We are not saying the elections were perfect , but our contacts with local and international observers revealed that they were substantially free and fair, so we applaud Nigerians for raising the bar to make Nigerians a respected democratic nation.
” Going to court to challenge the outcome may not be in the interest of Nigerians, who are enthusiastic about good governance.
“So, Alhaji Atiku should place national interest above personal political pursuit by refraining from constituting a huge distraction to government by his proposed legal action”, it warned.
Group backs Atiku’s decision to challenge Presidential election’s result in court
The coalition appealed to the electorate to be wiser by voting out those governors who had performed poorly in their respective States.
“This is not about party or ethnicity or religion, but about the survival of our nation.
” Any governor deemed to have disappointed the people through poor performances, corruption, abuse of office and rights of the citizens should be voted out.
“It is sad to see how governors were being allegedly bribed in a video clip that had gone viral on social media. Such governor is not worthy of reelection and others whose actions contradicted what they promised Nigerian citizens”.