- The Federal Government has said it is open to working with Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi after the Supreme Court affirmed President Bola Tinubu as the winner.
- The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the ruling of the Presidential Election Petitions Court dismissing the petitions by Atiku, Obi and the Allied People’s Movement challenging Tinubu’s victory.
- Following the Supreme Court’s Thursday ruling, Tinubu said the President remained open to work with the opposition. He said Atiku and Obi were the ones that had not heeded the call to join him.
- The President and the governing party, the All Progressives Congress, have welcomed the judicial victory in the presidential election, and have called on Nigerians to put the election matters behind them and join hands with the government to tackle the challenges confronting the nation.
Govt plans discourse
- The minister said the Federal Government was planning a national discourse to address issues of national values and unity. He stressed that the discourse would be distinct from the constitutional conference organised by previous governments.
- The discourse is about all the key segments of the society coming together to agree on the set values that we want to promote as a country.
Hardship temporary – Minister
- The minister said the President had implemented reforms that would yield benefits for all, and that the pain being experienced would only last a short time. He said the removal of petrol subsidy and harmonisation of the foreign exchange regime would help the citizens.
- He outlined some of the efforts made in the short and medium term to create an enabling environment for businesses, including the monthly provisional wage increment.
APC, Onanuga speak
- The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the President had never hidden his intention to work harmoniously with the opposition, and that the ball was now in their court to take the olive branch.
- The presidential aide said distance was not an obstacle to Obi congratulating the President, and that Obi would uphold the verdict of the Supreme Court.
- Onanuga dismissed reports that Tinubu might use the reconciliation process as a smokescreen to go after his political opponents after the judgment.
- The APC Director of Publicity, Bala Ibrahim, said Tinubu deserved to be commended for walking his talks, and added that the appointment of Nyesom Wike and Adebayo Adelabu were testaments that the APC was indeed running an inclusive government.
Jonathan visits Villa
- Former President Goodluck Jonathan said the elections are over and that all leaders must work together for a better future. He said he had been actively involved in peace and diplomacy in West Africa.
Diri explains visit
- Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, on Friday, clarified his visit to the presidential villa on Thursday, saying he was there to discuss serious state matters with the president, whom he said attended to the issues positively.
SANs hail judgment
- Some senior lawyers hailed the Supreme Court judgment, while others demanded accountability from the Independent National Electoral Commission. The lawyers said the judgment was in tandem with the law of the land, and that the head of INEC should not be allowed to conduct elections.
- A senior lawyer said the judgment was a restatement of the position of the law, and that it is unfortunate if a lawyer who has been involved in election petition cases says a judge or justice who made such a decision has been compromised.
- The Supreme Court judgment has settled a lot of issues regarding the electoral process, and has demonstrated that you need to do much more in order to show that there is non-compliance in an election.
Falana faults INEC
- Femi Falana said the failure of INEC to conduct credible elections created the avenue for the judiciary to be part of the process. He added that Nigerians have a long way to go in ensuring that credible elections are conducted.