A nonagenarian and elder statesman, Alhaji Tanko YakasaI, has asked the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) to accept the outcome of the just-concluded election and immediately send a congratulatory messages to the President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Yakasai also advised the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to run an all-inclusive government by giving all parts of the country a sense of belonging.
Alhaji Yakasai also called for the re-introduction of the strategy of National Development Plan, which he said is universally accepted as a panacea for nation building.
Addressing a press conference Wednesday in Abuja, the 98-year-old Kano-born politician said events in Nigeria leading to the just-conducted general elections were relatively calmer and in peaceful atmosphere devoid of rancour and disharmony.
He said: “My call is to the winner, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. I am sending my congratulations to you for this well deserved victory and I urge you to run an all-inclusive Ggvernment that will give every Nigerian from all parts of the country a sense of belonging.
“This election has shown democracy is evolving and consolidating in Nigeria and I urge the President-elect to re-introduce the strategy of National Development Plan which is universally accepted as a panacea for Nation building.”
He continued: “I must congratulate Nigerians on the peaceful election conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). I also commend the federal government for giving INEC all the necessary support without which this success wouldn’t have been possible.
“To the umpire, I congratulate INEC for the wonderful elections and their resolve to ensure that the will of the majority of the people is always respected and upheld. I charge them to do more during the forthcoming Gubernatorial and state assemblies elections.
“To those who contested and lost, I urge you all in the spirit of democratic tenents and our mational interest to embrace the outcome and congratulate the winner. As in every election, there has to be a winner and a loser.”
Reacting to comments made by the former President Olusegun Obasanjo regarding the conduct of the election, the elder statesman expressed disappointment, saying he did not expect such a call from the calibre of the former President.
“I listened to Obasanjo’s call and I read it in the newspaper. My reaction is that I was very disappointed, I did not expect it from a man of his calibre, former military ruler transformed into elected President of Nigeria. You don’t build democracy overnight, there is process all over the world that is evolving. For anybody to expect democracy to nurture and mature in a period of few years it is a mere day-dreamer.
“I will say that I am disappointed by Obasanjo’s sudden appeal, it came to him as an afterthought. It was not a well-prepared statement, but I am glad that people did not listen to him and the election has been conducted peacefully All over the country and the outcome has been respected by Nigerians and the international community.”
Speaking on the personality of the President-elect, Alhaji Yakasai said: “We are lucky that for the first time in our history, a President is elected who has what it takes to be President. As you know, Asiwaju Tinubu was a Senator and he led Lagos state for eight years as a governor. As a governor he has performed creditably well.”
