Results Declared By INEC Were Verified – UK

The United Kingdom (UK) says Nigerians can have confidence in the outcome of the presidential election that held on Saturday.

President
Muhammadu Buhari, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), won
the election with Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
coming second.

Harriett Baldwin, UK’s minister of state for
Africa, in a statement issued on Wednesday, said the result declared was
consistent with the civil society parallel vote tabulation process.

“I offer my congratulations to President Buhari on securing a second term as the Nigerian President,” she said in the statement.

“The
UK is a long-standing friend and partner of Nigeria and the Nigerian
people, and a stable and prosperous Nigeria benefits Africa and the
world.

“The Nigerian people have demonstrated resilience and a
commitment to democracy. The result declared by the Nigerian election
commission is consistent with the result obtained through the civil
society Parallel Vote Tabulation process. Along with our international
partners, the UK believes the Nigerian people can have confidence in the
result.”

Atiku had rejected the result describing the election
as the worst in the history of Nigeria. Following the announcement on
Wednesday, he said the election witnessed an implementation of grant
theft of the people’s will.

Reacting, however, Baldwin urged the opposition to challenge the result in a peaceful manner.

“We
also recognise that independent Nigerian voices have expressed concerns
about the conduct of the electoral process, in particular logistics and
results collation, and reports of intimidation of election officials,”
she said.

“We urge any party or individual who wishes to
challenge the process to do so peacefully and through the appropriate
legal channel and we encourage Nigerian authorities to examine all
allegations of wrongdoing carefully, and take the necessary action
against individuals found responsible.

“My thoughts are also with
the families and friends of those who lost their lives in
election-related violence. No one should die in the exercise of their
democratic rights. We will continue to support Nigeria and its civil
society in drawing lessons from these elections and strengthening its
democracy.”

Source:- Thecableng