UK, US, France send congratulatory messages to Tinubu

The governments of the United Kingdom, United States and France have congratulated Nigeria’s President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu after his victory in Saturday’s presidential election.

Posting on his Twitter page, UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak in his congratulatory message, said he was looking forward to growing Nigeria’s ties with the UK.

He said: “Congratulations to @officialABAT on his victory in Nigeria. The UK-Nigeria relationship remains strong. I look forward to working together to grow our security and trade ties, opening up opportunities for businesses and creating prosperity in both our countries.

The US also sent a congratulatory message which was posted on the website of the Consulate in Nigeria.

The message reads: “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.”

While speaking with journalists during his visit to President Muhammadu Buhari in Daura on Wednesday, Tinubu also confirmed that France President, Emmanuel Macron had reached out to him to congratulate him.

“On messages of congratulations: oh very many, many of that in fact as far as Europe, the stock market reacted positively well, there was a goodwill message from Macron the President of France,” he said.