Special to USAfrica magazine (Houston) and USAfricaonline.com, first Africa-owned, US-based newspaper published on the Internet.
By Chido Nwangwu, Founder & Publisher of USAfrica
As Nigerians and several international observers and members of the diplomatic corps continue to make their views and assessments of the February 25, 2023 presidential and national assembly elections known, the U.S Department of State has issued today, March 1, 2023, the position of the government. USAfricaonline.com publishes the full text of its statement, below:
The United States congratulates the people of Nigeria, President-elect Tinubu, and all political leaders following the declaration by Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the results of the February 25 presidential election. This competitive election represents a new period for Nigerian politics and democracy. Each of the top three candidates was the leading vote-getter in 12 states, a remarkable first in Nigeria’s modern political era, reflecting the diversity of views that characterized the campaign and the wishes of Nigeria’s voters.
We understand that many Nigerians and some of the parties have expressed frustration about the manner in which the process was conducted and the shortcomings of technical elements that were used for the first time in a presidential election cycle. Nigerians are clearly within their rights to have such concerns and should have high expectations for their electoral processes. We join other international observers in urging INEC to improve in the areas that need the most attention ahead of the March 11 gubernatorial elections.
There are well-established mechanisms in place for the adjudication of electoral disputes, and we encourage any candidate or party seeking to challenge the outcome to pursue redress through those mechanisms. We call on all parties, candidates, and supporters to refrain from violence or inflammatory rhetoric at this critical time.
We commend the active participation of civil society and the media for advancing electoral norms and political discourse on issues of importance to citizens. We note with concern reports that numerous members of the media were attacked during the course of the election, and we urge the government, security forces, political actors, and all citizens to respect the media’s critical role by refraining from any damaging acts against them and ensuring accountability for such acts when they do occur. We also congratulate the Nigerian people, especially the large number of youths who are relatively new to the political process, for demonstrating their strong commitment to democracy.
USAfricaonline.com : Amidst controversies,Bola Ahmed Tinubu, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has been declared winner of the 2023 presidential election.
The Chairman of Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, made the declaration very early on Wednesday March 1, at the National Collation Centre, Abuja.
He said Tinubu bagged a total of 8,794,726 votes, the highest of all the candidates and scored over 25 per cent of the votes cast in 30 states.
Yakubu added that Atiku Abubakar of the PDP came second with 6,984,520 votes, Peter Obi of the Labour Party came third with 6,101,533 votes while Rabiu Kwankwaso of the NNPP came fourth with 1,496,687 votes.
Controversies over INEC’s handling of the election and charges of rigging have followed Yakubu and the ruling APC.
Mr. President, Where’s our money and the state of our union?
The Nigerian election was a mess. There was no doubt about that, but the idea of the western world most notably United States not taking a stand is very troubling irrespective of their claim of being the world most democratic entity where human rights and it’s tenets are primary. Eye opener for Nigeria. They just want to continue enslaving our aspirations with crooked and incompetent politicians whom they failed to rebuke or admonish .
If it was Belarus president that rigged election and got into power, will America congratulate him? There was massive rigging in Nigeria that the world saw and Biden’s Administration is congratulating Tinubu? Is this the democracy they preach around the world or it’s only ok if it is in a black nation. All Nigerians in America need to vote Trump
Perhaps it’s time for Nigerians to vote for Trump or any Republican. All Obidients in America should vote for anyone but Biden. While Nigerians are fighting for their democracy, US recognizes an old tyrant that is killing the dreams of Nigerian youth. Really? Now I know it is true that the western world does not want Africa, Rising. Especially….Nigeria….the giant of Africa. The government of Belarus is still not recognized for its human violations. Please let Nigerian figure things out before you add to the trauma. As Americans, we should face our business. We have enough to fix here in our country.
The election was a total mess up,rggig,over voting,inec compromised.