A former governor of Ekiti State and member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Kayode Fayemi, has asked Bola Ahmed Tinubu, winner of Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election, and the APC to “seriously consider a government of national unity given the excellent performance of the opposition political parties”.
Fayemi told “the victorious candidate” and the APC that “there is no victor and no vanquished” in the 2023 historic election cycle, adding that it was not “a time for triumphalism but a time to celebrate the resilience of ordinary Nigerians with sobriety”.
Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State, Nigeria’s commercial capital, was in the early hours of Wednesday announced as winner of the presidential election held Saturday, February 25. He ran for the presidency under the banner of the APC.
He was declared president-elect by Mahmood Yakubu, chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), having scored a total of 8,794,726 votes to beat former vice president Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), who polled 6,984,520 votes, and Labour Party’s Peter Obi, the surprise element in the 2023 polls, who garnered 6,101,533 votes.
Fayemi, in a statement issued on his behalf by Ahmad Sajoh, head of the Fayemi Media Office, in Abuja, congratulated Tinubu, saying the former Lagos governor’s victory at the polls was a result of political resilience, brilliance, and shrewdness.
“It was a hard-fought win, which demonstrates the crowning of Asiwaju’s efforts and vision for Nigeria,” he said.
Fayemi, a former chairman of Nigerian Governors’ Forum, said he was trustful that Tinubu’s administration would fight for the interests of ordinary Nigerians and work hard to achieve the country’s national goals of peace, unity, and economic prosperity.
“While Asiwaju might have been the presidential candidate of the APC, he would be president of all Nigerians and promote unity, equity, and fairness,” he said.
He thanked all members of the APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), loyal party men and women across the length and breadth of Nigeria, without whose diligence and faithfulness, he said, the victory would not have been possible.
“I also wish to thank Nigerians who have trusted our party with presidential leadership again. I want to assure Nigerians that we will not disappoint and implement as faithfully as possible our presidential campaign manifesto,” he said.
He admonished political leaders and actors to avoid inciting remarks at this time and also encourage their followers to do the same.
“I use this opportunity to reiterate my earlier appeal that political leaders and actors should shun inflammatory remarks, and encourage their followers to do the same. We cannot burn down our country or truncate this precious democracy because of one electoral loss. There will be more electoral opportunities in the future,” Fayemi said.
