A former Head of State, Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar, has commended
President Goodluck Jonathan for conceding defeat and congratulating Maj.
Gen. Muhammadu Buhari on his victory in the Saturday’s presidential
election.
Abubakar spoke with State House correspondents shortly after
leading members of the National Peace Committee for the 2015 general
elections to a closed-door meeting with Jonathan at the Presidential
Villa, Abuja.
He said Buhari had earlier told him that Jonathan called him at about 5.15pm to congratulate him.
While saying that they were in the Presidential Villa to thank
Jonathan for his statesmanship, the former military leader urged all
stakeholders to emulate Jonathan’s sportsmanship.
He said, “We are here to ensure peace is maintained at this moment.
We thank Nigerians and all international community who came to support
us during the elections.
“The elections have been very peaceful despite the hitches here and
there. At the end of the elections, at the counting, there are a lot of
upheavals that have happened but thankfully they have been contained.
“We were at the middle of a meeting with the international
observers to try to see how we can still water the tension down when
gladly I called Gen. Buhari that we are going to see him. He told me
that Mr. President has called him at about 5.15 pm and congratulated him and conceded defeat.
“We were spellbound and the reason we have come here is to thank President Jonathan for this statesmanship.
“In the history of Nigeria, I think this is the first time where a
contestant has called his rival to congratulate him and through this
point, President Jonathan maintains a point that the blood of Nigerians
is not worth his Presidency and by his action, he has proven that.
“He has proven that he is a man of his word, because during our
interaction on this peace committee, he has always maintained that he is
going to accept the result of the elections whichever way it is done.
And he has proven this.”
Abubakar urged all Nigerians to join hands and assist the President in peaceful handing over.
He said all politicians, those who are celebrating and those who are ruing their loss, to give peace a chance.
The former Head of State said, “In any contest, there is always
going to be a winner and President Jonathan has accepted that he lost
and we want to thank him on behalf of Nigerians.
“I want to thank President Jonathan for being the statesman that he
is, he has proved that he is a statesman and he has the love of this
country in his heart. So, Nigerians should please help him to ensure
this is real.
“For any Nigerian, who is aggrieved, the electoral law has
procedures for seeking redress, so if anybody has any grievance, he
should apply through the law.
“I appeal again to our youth, to everybody to please give peace a
chance and accept that the chief contestant himself has accepted.”
Abdusalami hails Jonathan for conceding defeat
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Tuesday, March 31, 2015
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