By Danlami Nmodu
Outgoing Spokesman of the PDP presidential Campaign Organisation,Mr Femi Fani-Kayode has called on Nigerians to cooperate with the incoming government.That was a major U-turn by Fani-Kayode who had earlier threatened to resist if his party the PDP was ,according to him, rigged out.He claimed that PDP was winning.
But INEC has declared General Muhammadu Buhari as Nigeria’s president-elect after the collation of results in Abuja.
Fani-Kayode’s U-turn was clearly a reflection of president Goodluck Jonathan’s disposition.Much to the shock of PDP hawks,Jonathan called and congratulated Buhari even before INEC Chairman,Professor Attahir Jega declared the final tally of the election.
The PDPPCO spokesman said “ It has however come to a point that we must tell the world and the Nigerian people about how we feel about the outcome of the election. What we will say here today is basically to reiterate and to reflect the words of our leader and President, President Goodluck Jonathan. We start by saying that we commend and we congratulate General Muammadu Buhari for winning this election. We also wish to commend our President, President Goodluck Jonathan, for having the courage to concede that he has lost the election at the earliest moment and also for being able to stand up and rise above party politics and being able to speak like a statesman.
He said further “We therefore urge the Nigerian people and our teeming supporters to stand firm and continue to support the democratic process and continue to agitate for a better Nigeria. We urge them to continue to support our party the PDP as best as they can even though we lost this election. We ask them to co-operate with the incoming government and to remember that we are first and foremost Nigerians before anything else.
Fani-Kayode recalled that “On the day of the election when I went to vote at Ile-Ife, I held a press conference in which I told the people that more than anything else that we should try our very best to keep the peace in this country and to keep the country moving forward. I also reminded them that in every election there will always be a winner and a loser. It is a mark of our humanity and it is also symptomatic of the type of people that we are and who we are that when the time comes we can say we fought a good fight but we lost.
“And having lost, it does not mean that it is the end to the world, it just means that we need to re-group, re-organise ourselves and begin the process all over again because another elections will come in a few years time. And that is where we are today. We have conceded that we have lost. We acknowledge the fact that we fought a good fight. We do not have any fears about the future. We did the right thing during the campaign. We have no regrets about our candidate or the way in which we conducted our campaign and we will live to fight another day.
“Finally let me commend all our colleagues on the other side for also standing up for what they believed in. There was absolutely nothing personal as regards this Directorate or myself. I had nothing personal against anybody. I was simply doing my job for which I have no regrets and I wish them well and I sincerely hope that they will take Nigeria to a level that we can all be proud of.
“May God grant each and everyone of us peace. May He watch over our nation. May He guide our President for the next two months whilst he is still in power and thereafter and may He guide and lead the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, in the herculean task that lies ahead for him. My prayer is that he brings our nation together, heals the wounds and that he builds the bridges in terms of religion, ethnicity and region that he needs to build in order for us to make Nigeria a better place and to ensure that Nigeria becomes a great country that she is destined to be.
