Some residents of Katsina State have urged all candidates who lost the presidential election to concede defeat in the interest of peace and stability of the country.
The residents said the candidates should emulate former President Goodluck Jonathan by accepting defeat and congratulating the winner.
They said on Wednesday in Katsina in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), that doing so would be in the interest of the nation.
NAN reports that INEC had declared Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC, as winner of the presidential election conducted on Feb. 25.
The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said Tinubu garnered 8,794,726 votes to defeat Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, who polled 6,984,520 votes.
Peter Obi of Labour Party, LP, scored 6,101,533 votes, while Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, came a distant fourth with 1,496,687 votes.
“They should put national interest above their personal interest, conceding defeat will douse tension and prevent possible breakdown of law and order.
“In every contest, there must be a winner and a loser, hence the need for the losers to accept the will of the Almighty Allah in good faith and in the interest of the nation,” one of the residents, Sulaiman Gambo said.
Gambo said Nigerians have been praying to Allah to choose the best leaders for the country in 2023.
“To me the result is what Allah has destined, the winner and losers should consider that as something from Allah.
“The losers should emulate former President Goodluck Jonathan, who was the incumbent President when he lost the election and conceded defeat.
“I think it will be wrong for us to protest this victory. We have elected candidates of our choices, and at the end, Tinubu emerged the winner.
“We should pray for him so that the victory will be of benefit to us as a nation,” he said.
On his part, Mallam Abubakar Muhammad, called on youths not to allow themselves to be used by any politician to cause violence.
Muhammad advised all the newly-elected leaders to focus on alleviating the sufferings of citizens and addressing the insecurity and economic challenges bedeviling the country.
Another resident, Alhaji Kabir Abdullahi, urged those who lost the election to follow legal channels to seek for redress instead of using the youths to cause violence.
“This will not augur well for such politicians and the country,” he said.
He called on all elected leaders to work hard to ensure peace, unity and development in all parts of the country.
Abdullahi advised them to carry the people along so as to have an all inclusive government, in which the people’s interests were well protected.
