The United States on Wednesday congratulated Nigeria on the election of ruling party presidential candidate Bola Tinubu. The US also called for calm amid accusations of voter fraud and concerns over technical glitches.
Recall that Tinubu was declared the winner Tuesday of the February 25 polls in Africa’s most populous democracy.
“The United States congratulates the people of Nigeria, president-elect Tinubu and all the political leaders,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
“This competitive election represents a new period for Nigerian politics and democracy,” he added.
Price acknowledged the discontent among some Nigerians over the validity of the results, as at least one opposition figure has promised to dispute the outcome.
“We understand that many Nigerians and some of the parties have expressed frustration about the manner in which the process was conducted.
“Nigerians are clearly within their rights to have such concerns and should have high expectations for their electoral process,” Price said, urging political leaders to register their concerns through established legal “mechanisms.
“We call on all parties to refrain from violence or inflammatory rhetoric at this critical time,” Price said.
