Rev. Father Matthew Kukah, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, recently praised the presidential candidates from the 18 political parties who participated in the February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections for their adherence to the principles outlined in the National Peace Accord. Kukah expressed his commendation during an interview on Arise Television News on Friday morning, highlighting that the candidates conducted themselves in a manner that brought respect to Nigeria’s political landscape and processes. As a convener of the National Peace Committee, he emphasized the committee’s diligence in ensuring that the principles of the Peace Accord were upheld.
Kukah stated, “Let me commend the key political actors because, despite where we find ourselves now, on balance, Nigerians must agree that the presidential candidates did conduct themselves in a manner that brought a lot of respect to politics and the political processes. They deserve our commendation because we didn’t experience the usual recriminations and so on and so forth.”
In contrast, candidates Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party and Peter Obi of the Labour Party held separate press conferences yesterday, where they refused to concede defeat. Both candidates announced their intentions to challenge the results of the presidential election in court, where Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress was declared the winner and presented with a certificate of return as President-elect. They also declined Tinubu’s offer of reconciliation, which he extended in his acceptance speech on Wednesday, urging all parties and candidates to join him in nation-building.
In his address, Atiku criticized the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), stating that it had “failed woefully” in conducting free, fair, and credible elections, thereby undermining President Muhammadu Buhari’s legacy. He described the election as a “rape of democracy,” asserting that his fight was not for personal gain but for the future of Nigeria. Similarly, Peter Obi asserted that he won the election and was prepared to prove it in court. He claimed that the announced results were “programmed” and deviated from the electoral rules established by INEC, accusing the nation’s leaders of robbing Nigerians of their rightful choice.
In response to Obi’s claims, Bayo Onanuga, the Director of Media and Publicity for the APC Presidential Campaign Council, issued a statement titled “We will meet Peter Obi in Court.” He affirmed that the president-elect was ready to engage Obi in legal proceedings, provided that there was concrete evidence to substantiate Obi’s assertion of victory in the election.
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