Akufo-Addo urges peaceful resolution of electoral challenges in Nigeria

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has called on political actors in Nigeria to seek a peaceful resolution to all the issues raised against the February 25, 2023, elections.

They should, in accordance with due process, seek consensus to address all the challenges arising from the polls, so that “the will of the Nigerian people will be duly manifested.”

The President made the call at the presentation of new year greetings to the Diplomatic Community at the Peduase Lodge on Tuesday.

The annual event aims to strengthen the bonds of friendship and promote goodwill between Ghana and other countries and international organizations.

Millions of Nigerians turned out on February 25 to cast their votes in what political analysts have described as the most keenly contested election in the history of the West African country.

But some political actors across the country have dismissed the polls as a sham, accusing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of colluding with security agencies to compromise the polls, against the wish of the Nigerian people.

INEC Wednesday morning declared the Ruling All People’s Congress’s 70-year-old candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the winner of the disputed election.

He got 37 per cent of the votes to beat his main rival Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) who polled 29 per cent, and the Labour Party’s Peter Obi who also polled 25 per cent.

The opposition parties have maintained that the elections were highly flawed and have demanded a rerun of the polls.

President Akufo-Addo told the diplomatic community that happenings in Nigeria had direct implications in West Africa and the entire African continent, and as such, political stakeholders in that country must find an amicable solution to objections about the 2023 presidential elections.

“I hope that these challenges will be resolved peacefully in accordance with due process and that the will of the Nigerian people will be duly manifested,” he said.

“The impact on the cause of democracy in West Africa and indeed, in the entire continent of Africa by the events in Nigeria cannot be overemphasized. We wish them the best of luck and God’s blessings.”