Your Excellency, the Vice President elect, Professor
Yemi Osinbajo, your Excellency, Chief Rotimi Amaechi,
the Director General of APC Presidential Campaign,
2015, your Excellency, the former Governor of Edo
State and National Chairman of our great party, your
Excellency the Governor Imo State, Rochas Okorocha,
your Excellency, the former Governor of Imo State, Dr
Ogbonaya Onu, Your Excellency, the former Governor of
Ekiti State, Engineer Oni, your Excellency the former
Governor of Kwara, Bokola Saraki, your Excellency, the
Speaker of the House of Representative, Honourable
Aminu Tambuwal, Please, let me stand on existing
protocol.
At exactly 5:15 yesterday (Tuesday) evening, President
Jonathan called to congratulate me on my victory. For this, I
want all Nigerians to join me in congratulating and
appreciating Mr President for his statesmanship. President
Jonathan was a worthy opponent. I extend my hand of
fellowship to him. I look forward to meeting him soon, as we
plan the transition from one administration to another. He will
receive nothing but cooperation and understanding from me,
who led this nation to democracy. You stood in line patiently
for hours; in the rain, in the sun and then in the dark to cast
your votes. Even when the vote was extended to Sunday in
some places, you still performed your civic duties.
You did so peacefully. You voted with your heart. Your vote
affirms that you believe Nigeria’s future can be better than
what it is today. You voted for change and now change has
come. INEC has released the official result of the Presidential
Election. INEC has declared that I gained the most votes with
the required spread and won this election. In a more profound
way, it is you, Nigerians that have won. The people have
shown their love for our nation and their believe in democracy.
The declaration of INEC accurately reflects the will of the
people.
While there might have been some logistical obstacles and
irregularities associated with the exercise, the result shall
stand as what the people want. I thank all Nigerians who
have made this day possible, our country has now joined the
community of nations that have used the ballot box to
physically change an incumbent president in a free and fair
election To me, this is indeed historic. Most people will
welcome the result because it is the one they voted for.
Others will literarily be disappointed. I ask that we all be
circumspect, respectful and peaceful in these times. This was
a hard-fought contest. Emotions were high.
We must not allow them to get the better of us. This is not
the time for confrontation. This is a moment that we must
begin to heal the wounds and work toward a better future. We
do this first by extending a hand of friendship and conciliation
across the political divide. We hope and pray our friends in
other parties reciprocate. I thank all the members of the All
Progressives Congress, the APC, for their commitment and
their hard work through the formation of the party, the
campaigns and the presidential elections. Let me equally
express my appreciation to the media, civil society and
security agencies for their selfless service.
The international press and our friends abroad deserve a fair
commendation for their support throughout the process. We
promise a robust and dynamic engagement with your
countries in matters of mutual interest. In the interim, I call on
all Nigerians to be law abiding and peaceful. The eyes of the
world were focused on us to see if we can vote in a peaceful
way and carry out elections in an orderly manner. We have
proven to the world that we are a people who have embraced
democracy and a people who seek a government by, for and
for the people.
We have put one party state behind us. We have voted for a
government that will serve and govern, but will never rule over
you. CHANGE has come and a new day and a new Nigeria is
upon us. The victory is yours and the glory is that of our
nation, NIGERIA. I will make a more formal address to the
nation, later in the afternoon after I receive the certificate of
return from the INEC.
May God Bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Nigeria’s President Elect
Muhammadu Buhari