Accept Supreme Court’s verdict – Ohanaeze tells Atiku, Obi

Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, the leading Igbo social and cultural organization, has urged Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi to respect the Supreme Court’s ruling in the cause of national unity.

The group advised people to back the current attempt by President Bola Tinubu’s administration to improve governance in the country by enacting progressive economic policies with all the enthusiasm they could muster.

Following the Supreme Court verdict affirming the 2023 presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as the duly-elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Ohanaeze Ndigbo’s factional Secretary General Okechukwu Isiguzoro made the group’s position known in a statement issued on Thursday evening.

Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) and Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) had both filed cases with the Supreme Court, but both were dismissed, as reported by InfoStride News.

Both Obi and Atiku filed separate appeals with the Supreme Court challenging the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal’s decision to uphold Tinubu’s election.

Ohanaeze had earlier stated that the landmark ruling from the nation’s highest court effectively ended all lawsuits arising from the conclusion of the February 25th, 2023 presidential election run by INEC.

The pan-Igbo group applauded the judges who presided over post-election cases for their thorough investigation and impartiality.

The statement claims that the verdict “reinforces the credibility and integrity of our democratic institutions and also highlights the importance of upholding the rule of law and the will of the people.”

In light of this result, Ohanaeze Ndigbo urges Atiku Abubakar, the PDP presidential candidate, and Mr. Peter Obi, the LP presidential candidate, to follow in the footsteps of former President Goodluck Jonathan, who, following the 2015 election, publicly congratulated and supported Buhari’s victory.

We strongly recommend that they send their congratulations to President Tinubu on his Supreme Court victory and make contact with their key political opponent in the 2023 election.

As one commentator put it, “this gesture of sportsmanship and magnanimity is crucial in fostering unity, healing divisions, and setting a positive example for their supporters.”

President Tinubu’s victory was confirmed, and Ohanaeze offered their congratulations. They also advised the president to be gracious in triumph.