The Speaker of the House of Representatives Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, Ph.D, has congratulated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on his victory at the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal.
Speaker Abbas said the dismissal of the petitions against Tinubu’s victory in the February 25, 2023 presidential election has only added more legitimacy and credibility to his government and administration.
The Speaker noted that while the petitioners have duly exercised their rights by approaching the tribunal to table their grievances, the court has also duly weighed the arguments and evidence presented before it before arriving at the judgment.
The judiciary, the Speaker added, has lived up to its name as the true arbiter in any case, based on the way it adjudicated on the presidential election petitions before it.
Speaker Abbas hailed the judiciary for its critical role in the sustenance of democracy in Nigeria, noting that the tribunal’s judgment has strengthened democratic processes in the country.
He said the judgment has vindicated the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which duly declared Tinubu the winner of the presidential poll based on the votes the president received from Nigerians.
The Speaker urged presisent’s opponents in the presidential election as well as all Nigerians across political, religious and ethnic lines to support the Tinubu administration towards achieving a safe and prosperous country for all.
Also, the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu congratulated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on his victory at the Presidential Elections Petitions Tribunal (PEPT), saying his victory at the polls was never in doubt.
In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Mr. Levinus Nwabughiogu, Kalu said that Nigerians couldn’t have made a wrong choice on February 25, 2023 when they filed out enmasse across the country to cast their vote for the then presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Kalu said that the ruling of the tribunal only affirmed the peoples verdict and further lent credence to the legitimacy of Tinubu’s election.
The Deputy Speaker who is a lawyer commended the thoroughness and the sense of professionalism displayed by the five man panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani in interpreting the law and dispensing justice.
Kalu said that Tinubu’s victory as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after the February presidential election was never in doubt.
He commended President Tinubu for staying focused on governance despite the obvious attempts by his opponents to distract him through litigations from the onerous task of fixing the country.
Kalu who however hailed Tinubu’s opponents for deepening democracy by their actions that further tested the nation’s constitution and the electoral laws also commended them for not resorting to violence or other extra judicial means after the polls but elected to pursue their grievances through the court.
The Deputy Speaker therefore advised the opponents to key into the Renewed Hope agenda of the current administration, urging them to put an end to the legal voyage and join hands with the president and all well-meaning Nigerians across all political divides to move the country forward.
In a related development, the Deputy Speaker who represents Bende Federal Constituency of Abia State also congratulated the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Rt. Hon. Nkiruka Onyejiocha on her victory at the Tribunal over the seat of Isiukwuato/ Umunneochi Federal Constituency of the State.