The United States Government has said that the Nigeria’s presidential election exercise failed to meet the expectations of the citizens.
In a statement released on Sunday, the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard, said many citizens are angry and frustrated with the results, while some others are celebrating victories they believe were hard-fought and well-earned.
“It is clear that the electoral process as a whole on February 25 failed to meet Nigerians’ expectations,” the US Ambassador stated eight days after the presidential election.
“In the coming days, it will be important for the future of this country that Nigerians not let their differences divide them, and that the legally established process for resolving challenges to the election be allowed to take its course.”
The US envoy called on INEC to promptly address the challenges that can be resolved ahead of the 11 March governorship elections, urging the electoral body to undertake a broader review of the problems that transpired during the last elections and what can be done to fix them.
She also commended Nigerians for demonstrating their dedication to democracy, asking INEC to share with the Nigerian public information about the actions it is taking.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of the election after polling 8,794,726 votes, almost two million votes more than his closest rival — former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Abubakar, 76, who has now run for president six times, got 6,984,520 votes, while the candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, who, in less than a year, galvanized young voters in a manner some have described as unprecedented finished the race with 6,101,533.
However, both Atiku and Obi have faulted the presidential election, vowing to challenge the result in court.
Leonard commended Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar for their commitment to take the legal path in contesting the presidential elections and also the president-elect, Bola Tinubu, for acknowledging their right to do so.