The United Kingdom (UK) has waded into discussions about the authenticity of results of the presidential and national assembly elections announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) defeated his closest challenger, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Atiku has since called the election a “sham”, saying he would challenge the results in court.
However, in a statement on Wednesday, UK’s minister of state for Africa, Harriett Baldwin, said the result declared was consistent with the civil society parallel vote tabulation process.
“I offer my congratulations to President Buhari on securing a second term as the Nigerian President.
“The UK is a long-standing friend and partner of Nigeria and the Nigerian people, and a stable and prosperous Nigeria benefits Africa and the world.
“The Nigerian people have demonstrated resilience and a commitment to democracy. The result declared by the Nigerian election commission is consistent with the result obtained through the civil society Parallel Vote Tabulation process. Along with our international partners, the UK believes the Nigerian people can have confidence in the result,” she said.
Baldwin also called for the opposition to challenge the result through legal means and peacefully.
“We urge any party or individual who wishes to challenge the process to do so peacefully and through the appropriate legal channel and we encourage Nigerian authorities to examine all allegations of wrongdoing carefully, and take the necessary action against individuals found responsible,” she said
