The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Friday, noted that the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and his Labour Party counterpart (LP), Peter Obi have still not congratulated president Bola Tinubu.
This comes 2 days after the Supreme Court upheld the verdict of the presidential election tribunal that affirmed Tinubu as the winner of the February 25 election.
The apex court struck out the petitions filed by Atiku and Obi against the victory of Tinubu in the February 25, 2023 presidential election.
Onanuga urged the 2 major front runners to acknowledge the call for collaboration by the president.
The presidential aide during an interview with Punch said the President had never hidden his intention to work harmoniously with the opposition.
He said, “If you read the president’s statement yesterday (Thursday), you will notice he extended out an olive branch to them, saying he will welcome their participation in his government. This has been consistent with his declaration on May 29 when he came in.
He said he sees it as a normal thing in democracy for them to contest his victory and still regard all of them as brothers, members of the same family living in the same house but in different rooms.
“The President stands by that declaration and will always welcome them. You remember he said he was not a ‘superman’ but a human being who will always welcome alternative ideas that the opposition may also provide. The ball is now in their court to take the olive branch President Tinubu has extended to them.”
He said they observed that 24 hours after the Supreme Court judgment, both Atiku and Obi had kept mute.
When reminded that Obi was not in the country, the presidential aide said the distance was not an obstacle, adding, “The world is a global village. Wherever Obi is at the moment, nothing stops him from congratulating the President. That will be his demonstration that he has forgotten all about this election matter and is ready to uphold the verdict of the Supreme Court, which we know is also final.”
Speaking on reports that Tinubu might use the reconciliation process as a smokescreen to go after his political opponents after the judgment, Onanuga dismissed the notion, saying, “President Tinubu is a democrat who won the election free and fair. He is also an accommodating president who welcomes ideas. The President is not someone who believes anybody with a contrary opinion must be alienated. No, they are Nigerians too.”