Ogona Anita
Nigeria’s President-elect, Bola Tinubu, has described the certificate of return presented to him by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as a “World Cup” trophy. Tinubu spoke during a visit to the palace of Rilwan Akinolu, oba of Lagos, on Sunday.
INEC had in the course of the week announced Tinubu, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the presidential election conducted on February 25. Mahmood Yakubu, INEC chairman, said Tinubu polled 8,794,726 votes.
Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had the second-highest figure with 6,984,520 votes, while Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) was next with 6,101,533 votes. Speaking at the palace, Tinubu promised not to disappoint Nigerians.
“To all the monarchies seated, may God provide you with strong health for you. God will not allow our country to perish. We will not be used as a tool to disgrace you. I will not let you down,” he said.
“The journey that we embarked upon and we have returned home with a certificate — it is like our own World Cup — and I thank you all for the effort.”
On his part, Oba of Lagos praised the president-elect as a special breed “who is destined for leadership at the very top”. Dignitaries present at the palace included Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, Femi Pedro, former deputy governor of Lagos; Muiz Banire, former commissioner for environment, and Jumoke Okoya-Thomas, APC Lagos women leader.
Others are Saheed Elegushi, Oba of Ikate-Elegushi Kingdom, and Omogbolahan Lawal, Oniru of Iruland
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