The president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the vice president-elect Senator Kashim Shettima yesterday made a triumphal entry into the private residence of President Muhammadu Buhari in Daura, Katsina State brandishing their certificates of return.
In a statement issued by presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, he said the certificates are symptomatic of their victory in the presidential election as issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Apparently overwhelmed with emotions, seeing the “phenomenal election result,” Buhari kept repeating, “My Good Lord, My Good Lord,” “Fantastic.”
“We are very lucky,” the president said as he warmly clasped the hand of the president-elect, “there were no problems. No blood shed, no accidents. We have God Almighty to thank for this.”
Buhari said he was pleased that the people chose the APC and its candidates, affirming through this, their desire that the momentum of development under the administration continues.
The president commended the party supporters and the Presidential Campaign Council for the “historic win,” which he said would never have been possible without discipline, commitment and hard work.
In an interview, Tinubu said that as a loyal party man, he came to present the certificate to the president as the party leader and to commend him for his efforts to support democracy in Africa.
“This is the largest democracy in Africa. We could not have done any better. We are lucky, there is no accident and no matter how provocative a defeat is, we have to tolerate it if we are democrats.
We have a nation to build,” he said.
The election winner and his deputy were accompanied to Daura by the Chairman of the APC, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, the founding chairman, Chief Bisi Akande as well as the Governors of Katsina, Kaduna, Ebonyi, Zamfara, Lagos and Jigawa.
Others were the Governors of Kebbi, Niger, Plateau, Ogun and the former Governors of Borno, Ali Modu Sheriff and that of Zamfara, Abdulaziz Yari.
