The call from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Niger State governorship candidate, Alhaji Isah Liman Kantigi, congratulating the governor elect, Hon Umar Mohammed Bago of APC seems to have prevented post-election crisis in Niger State.
Many have commended his actions as a rare show of political sportsmanship as he congratulated the governor-elect before the final result of the collation was announced.
Information gathered states he called to congratulate the latter when collation was on going, with about three of the 25 local government areas left, before the final results would be announced in the state governorship election.
Kantigi ,came out to give reasons for his actions, as he told Journalists at his country home Kantigi Edati Local Government Area of Niger State that ”To be a good leader, the governor-elect has to be comfortable and we all have roles to play in ensuring that, that call was part of it.”
According to him “Elections have come and gone. We are looking at issues arising from the elections to assess where they originated from, is it from INEC or human error? Election has come and gone, let us rally around who God has put on the throne and pray for him to look at the needs of the people for the progress of Niger State.”
The PDP Flag bearer emphasised that there was no court higher than that of God, while ruling out challenging the outcome of the election in court.
He maintained that ”I have fought the APC gallantly with a vote difference of 82,420, this was unprecedented in the history of Niger State. The people stood up and said no. They said enough is enough, but God said it is not yet time,” Kantigi added.
On his part , Hon Bago while receiving his certificate of return last week said “I want to use this opportunity to express my gratitude to my elder brother, Alhaji Isah Liman Kantigi, the gubernatorial candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, for demonstrating exemplary sportsmanship in acknowledging the legitimacy of this mandate. His symbolic phone call in the wake of this victory testified that election is not war and that we are going to remain allies despite our clashing partisan allegiances.”
Bago did not stop at that, he visited Kantigi at the weekend to extend to him a hand of fellowship aimed at forming a unity government, while getting the assurance of the PDP candidate not to challenge his victory in court.
Meanwhile, a chieftain of APC in Niger State, Alhaji Mohammed Nma Kolo, has lauded the show of sportsmanship by the PDP governorship candidate. He said the gesture was a rare show of political maturity.
The Northcentral coordinator of Campaign for Democracy, Human Rights Advocacy and Civil Society, Dr Abdullahi Mohammed Jabi, said it was a show of political maturity and true politics without bitterness.
