All is set for President Muhammadu Buhari to hand over the mantle of leadership to the 16th democratically elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, tomorrow, Monday.
Tinubu, in a keenly contested poll, defeated his opponents, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar and his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi to emerge winner of the February 25 election.
Although the outcome of the poll was vehemently rejected by the opposition parties, the former Lagos Governor is set to be sworn-in as the President of the country.
DAILY POST reports that despite moves by aggrieved political actors to scuttle the May 29 inauguration, President Muhammadu Buhari had on Thursday, handed over the transition report to the President-elect, signalling the coming of a new and fresh political era.
Recall that amid a series of protests, particularly in the nation’s capital against the declaration of Tinubu as President-elect, the PDP and the Labour Party which came second and third respectively in the election, are seeking redress in court, alleging that their mandates were stolen by the ruling party.
There have been several lawsuits seeking a stoppage of the inauguration, alleging that Tinubu and the vice President-elect, Kashim Shettima are unqualified to even contest in the election.
But the move is yet to yield any positive results for the aggrieved politicians.
DAILY POST reports that delegates and some power brokers from across the world are currently in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, to witness the long-awaited inauguration of Tinubu and his vice.
While a section of Nigerians are preparing their drums, flutes, and other musical instruments with their stunning cultural regalias to celebrate the incoming government, others who alleged that the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, imposed Tinubu on Nigerians, have continued to bow their heads low.
A pastor with the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, in Bwari Area Council Abuja, David Oyijeche lamented that despite the outcry by Nigerians on the irregularities that allegedly marred the February elections, Tinubu is being sworn-in.
He told DAILY POST that Tinubu is not the choice of the majority of Nigerians, stressing that those who voted against him, may also work against the incoming administration.
He said, “The election was nothing but a sham and even the one declared winner knows that he didn’t win the election. There is evidence everywhere indicating that the election was rigged.
“People who never voted in their lives, came out en masse on that February 25 but they were all frustrated by the outcome.
“There is a candidate that almost all Abuja residents voted for, the turnout on that day was shocking. Majority of residents were out to exercise their rights.
“Many people were expecting at least a million votes for the candidate but what did we see in the news? His votes were heavily suppressed. The same thing happened in Plateau State.
“Let us even assume that the figures are correct, the person that they crowned winner had over 8 million votes, the second and third had over 6 million votes each and the fourth also had over 1 million votes.
“If you sum the scores of the other three candidates, you will have over 14 million votes. This means that 8 million people voted for him (Tinubu) while 14 million people voted against him, so how does he represent the choice of the majority?
“By this, we can assume that those against him are more than those for him and in governance, you need the support of the majority to succeed”.
According to him, the electoral umpire ought to have cancelled the election and conducted a fresh poll.
However, in a counter reaction, Pastor Ayodele Johnson of the same ministry, told DAILY POST that Bola Tinubu’s emergence as the next president of the country was the total will of God.
Ayodele was of the opinion that even the alleged rigging wouldn’t have been possible if not allowed by the supreme God.
“There was never a time when we prayed for an election like we did in the recent one. All Christians prayed, many of us even fasted for days not really for a particular candidate to win but for the will of God to be done.
“1st John 5:14 said ‘And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us’. As a Christian, whenever we pray, we believe that God has heard us. And indeed He heard us when we cried to Him prior to the election.
“So if we have prayed and fasted for the election and we now have a winner, we should tell ourselves the truth that God wanted that person to win.
“It may not be what we desired but the will of God is always different from our will and who told you that there is someone that God cannot use? Bola Tinubu may even favour Christians more than the person we earlier wanted”, he said.
DAILY POST reports that several Nigerian youths who were galvanised by the LP presidential candidate, Peter Obi during the election campaign, had staged a series of protests in Abuja aiming at ensuring Obi’s victory.
The Obidients believe that the election was manipulated by the electoral body in favour of the ruling party.
There also came calls for an interim government, though it was greeted with heavy criticism, causing a stir in the political space.
Countering the stance, the Deputy Country Director of African Youth Union Commission, Amb. Aguredam Moses told DAILY POST on Saturday in Abuja that all the political parties that participated in the election must have in one way or the other, involved in rigging.
He also expressed optimism that Tinubu’s government may not go bad as being insinuated in some parts of the country.
According to Moses, looking at Tinubu’s track record, the former Lagos Governor will beat the expectations of Nigerians.
He said, “People may say he is not the only one that built Lagos but I believe very well that Tinubu will beat the expectation of Nigerians.
“Looking at the calibre of business people he has met recently, has given me confidence that he will do better than his predecessors.”
Speaking on the alleged rigging, Moses said “our electoral system, both on the part of the electorates and the umpire have some form of manipulation.
“Both the Labour Party and the Peoples Democratic Party rigged the election in certain places. So I can tell you that some of the cases will be thrown out soon.”
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