By Janet Bassey (Governance Reporter)
Nigeria's Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, on Thursday, congratulated President Bola Tinubu on the affirmation of his declaration as winner of the February 25, 2023 Presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
By its latest verdict, the Supreme Court of Nigeria has also endorsed the judgement of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) which recently upheld Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the governing All Progressive Congress (APC) as winner of that controversial election.
Akpabio, who, in his opinion, described the apex court's decision as a reflection of the will of the Nigerian people, however, said it was a welcome relief as the judgement has finally laid to rest the acrimonious legal war over who actually won the last Presidential poll.
The Senate President told Tinubu, thus in his congratilulatory message: “Mr President, I am personally elated that the jurists of the Supreme Court saw through the arguments and even without much technicalities easily confirmed your victory in the poll.
“There is no doubt that victory came at a cost, but Mr President, that makes it even sweeter. I know you have in your years of public service yielded your personal and other comforts for the collective good and what it cost to confirm the victory in the courts should be seen with a similar vista".
He enjoined Bola Tinubu to demonstrate to all that he is now the patriarch of every Nigerian. Akpabio also called on the core political opponents of the President, especially Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, to accept the current development and join hands with the Tinubu's administration to collectively make Nigeria a great country in the years ahead.
“The elections have been announced by the electoral authorities and confirmed by the courts, and I call on all former political rivals of the president to show good faith by joining hands with the Bola Tinubu administration in its ongoing efforts to take the nation to a higher level".
Senator Akpabio however pledged the total support of the National Assembly to President Tinubu's government by deploying its parliamentary cooperation to improve the overall standard of governance in Nigeria. NNL.
