The United Kingdom has said Nigerians can have confidence in the results of the Presidential elections held across the country on February 23.
UK’s minister of state for Africa, Harriett Baldwin, in a statement issued on Wednesday, said the result declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission was in line with the civil society parallel vote tabulation process.
She therefore congratulated President Muhammadu Buhari on his success at the polls and urged members of the opposition who may wish to challenge the result to do so in a peaceful manner.
Recall that INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu had on Wednesday declared President Muhammadu Buhari, candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, winner of the election with Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, coming second.
Recall also that Atiku rejected the result citing many anomalies which he said suggested that the result was doctored.
In her statement, Baldwin said: “I offer my congratulations to President Buhari on securing a second term as the Nigerian President,” she said in the statement.
“The UK is a long-standing friend and partner of Nigeria and the Nigerian people, and a stable and prosperous Nigeria benefits Africa and the world.
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“The Nigerian people have demonstrated resilience and a commitment to democracy. The result declared by the Nigerian election commission is consistent with the result obtained through the civil society Parallel Vote Tabulation process. Along with our international partners, the UK believes the Nigerian people can have confidence in the result.
“We also recognise that independent Nigerian voices have expressed concerns about the conduct of the electoral process, in particular logistics and results collation, and reports of intimidation of election officials.
“We urge any party or individual who wishes to challenge the process to do so peacefully and through the appropriate legal channel and we encourage Nigerian authorities to examine all allegations of wrongdoing carefully, and take the necessary action against individuals found responsible.
“My thoughts are also with the families and friends of those who lost their lives in election-related violence. No one should die in the exercise of their democratic rights. We will continue to support Nigeria and its civil society in drawing lessons from these elections and strengthening its democracy.”
