According to President Buhari, Bola Tinubu of the APC is still the president-elect, and anyone who is unhappy with the results of the presidential election on February 25, 2023, should go to court if they have the legal right to do so.
In a statement titled "At the 5th United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries, LDCs" that was released on Thursday, March 9, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, revealed that President Buhari is opposed to any plans to annul the elections, which many have claimed were marked by irregularities.
Garba claims that President Buhari has stated that he will prevent a repeat of the events of June 12, 1993. He noted that there had been requests for the elections to be called off prior to the President's journey to Doha for the UN Conference, but he had consistently insisted that the results would be accepted by his government and must stand.
“In addition to other things, this trip, more than any other, speaks to the courage, political stamina, and statesmanship with which the President has managed the affairs of the nation. Before the trip, he was faced with orchestrated attempts to poison public opinion against national institutions, particularly the presidential election and its conduct by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, an institution against which vile and unsubstantiated allegations were hurled.
The clear intent of this was to create an atmosphere of fear, polarising the public and demonizing the administration of the President. The wishful thinkers appeared to assume that the June 12, 1993, election crisis, the worst ever since the civil war, could be recreated.
Those who sought to do this forgot what the President said at the palace of the Gbong-Gwon Jos when he went to the city to inaugurate the Tinubu-Shettima campaign: “this election will not be annulled; whoever is the winner will be president.
President Buhari not only muted himself, following the cacophony, he picked up international travel: Bola Tinubu’s election stands. If you are aggrieved, and you have the locus to do so, go to court. President Buhari used the opportunity of the visit to speak to his guests about the recent election in Nigeria and the fact that a new President would be taking over in less than three months.
He expressed hope that the strong relations he had built between those countries will continue to endure in the new administration.”