Best of luck and God's blessings: Akufo-Addo reacts to Nigerian presidential polls

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has publicly commented for the first time about Nigeria's February 25 presidential elections.

He expressed hope that parties contesting the outcome, in part or whole, would resort to the laid down constitutional channels.

Akufo-Addo whiles delivering an address to the diplomatic corps at Peduase Lodge on March 2 stressed the importance of Nigeria's political stability on the West African subregion and Africa as a whole.

“I hope that these challenges will be resolved peacefully in accordance with due process and that the will of the Nigerian people will be duly manifested,” he said.

“The impact on the cause of democracy in West Africa and indeed, in the entire continent of Africa by the events in Nigeria cannot be overemphasized. We wish them the best of luck and God’s blessings.”

A number of losing parties have vowed to challenge the declaration of the ruling All Progressives Congress' (APC) candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu's victory as announced by the elections body on Wednesday, March 1.

Outgoing president Muhammadu Buhari in his congratulatory message also tasked aggrieved parties to submit to the courts and not the streets in seeking redress for infractions whiles admitting the vote had challenges.

Tinubu beats two main contenders

Tinubu was in the race along with the main opposition People’s Democratic Party's (PDP) Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP).

In terms of the hard figures, APC polled 8,805,655 valid votes as against the PDP's 6,984,520 and LP's 6,098,588.

The New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) got 1,496,687 valid votes whiles the fourteen other aspirants together got the remaining 666,298.

Nigeria's peculiar means of determining president means that the winner must get at least 25% of votes in two thirds of the 36 states plus the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja.

Tinubu had at least 25% of votes in 29 states, Atiku had 25% of votes in 21 states, Obi had 25% of votes in 16 states whiles Rabiu Kwankwaso of NNPP passed the threshold in only one state.

Tinubu is expected to be handed his certificate later today at the Abuja International Conference Center where INEC had used as the collation center for the presidential elections.

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