The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Dumebi Kachikwu, has said the victory of the President-Elect, Bola Tinubu, of the All Progressives Congress, in the just-concluded presidential and National Assembly elections was an advantage of a disunited opposition, some of whom were running purely on “the divisive platforms of ethnicity and religion.”
Kachikwu also stated that the Peoples Democratic Party and the Labour Party presidential candidates failed to show leadership when they refused to put aside minor differences to build a formidable opposition to take on a non-performing sitting government.
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He disclosed this in a statement made available to journalists on Friday.
The Independent National Electoral Commission had in the early hours of Wednesday declared Tinubu as the President-Elect, after polling the highest votes cast in Saturday’s presidential election.
He said, “The victory of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in the just concluded presidential poll is a clear case of consistency and preparation meet opportunity. Asiwaju, a dogged fighter with a mastery of the Nigerian political system, took advantage of a disunited opposition some of whom were running purely on the divisive platforms of ethnicity and religion.
“The distortions occasioned by the rigging done by the four so-called leading parties were not significant enough to have altered the outcome of this election. I long warned that any vote for the Labour Party was a vote in support of an APC victory. The PDP and Labour Party candidates failed to show leadership when they refused to put aside petty differences to build a formidable opposition to take on a non-performing sitting government. They now seek to form an alliance of sore losers after defeat.”
Kachikwu further remarked that, “Asiwaju’s victory is a lesson to segments of the clergy who provided their places of worship as campaign platforms. We must separate ‘Thus saith the Lord’ from our biases and personal convictions. If they seek to clean up the political space, they must first look within. Most of those who lead us can be found there on Fridays and Sundays.
“Are we a nation of sinners in search of a saint or a nation of the lost in search of a leader? Asiwaju’s victory answers this question.”
He noted that Nigeria and Nigerians must now move forward with all hands on deck in the onerous task of nation building.
