By Ayodele Johnson

It has never been considered a clean victory in the election that led to Senator Bola Tinubu being sworn in as the President of Nigeria on 29, May, but a bench of seven Supreme Court judges has stamped it today that he was truly the top performer in the 2023 Nigerian presidential election.

Two candidates, Atiku Abubakar (People’s Democratic Party) and Peter Obi (Labour Party) from strong opposition parties opposed his declaration as the winner because they believed themselves to have excelled the most. And so, having both failed to convince the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal whose ruling on 6 September maintained Bola Tinubu’s position as the President, they headed to the Supreme Court with pretty much the same pitch.

In their pitch were found arguments around a breach of the Electoral Act, failure to secure the required 25 per cent votes in FCT, and electoral malpractices. These were the wrongdoings that ought to disqualify the president. The Supreme Court disagreed with the claims and has given a final answer regarding the matter.

Heading the bench is Justice Inyang Okoro whose statement has upheld Bola Tinubu’s victory.

“On the whole, having resolved all the issues against the appellant, it is my view that there is no merit in the appeal and it is hereby dismissed.”

Okoro also added: “The judgment of the court below delivered on September 6^th, 2023 affirming the election of the second respondent as the duly elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is hereby affirmed.”

In the silence of the courthouse, judges emphasised the absolute lack of purpose of some prayers put before them. Now, with his victory apparently finalised, President Bola Tinubu reached for X profile to make an announcement centering on the noble call to service.

The president just as soon as his inauguration speech at Eagle Square on 29 May started brought pressure upon himself after cancelling petrol subsidy forever. This brought on scarcity and sent transport fares and food prices rising. It did not help that he had to juggle long-running litigations with that.

“It was affirmed once more today, that my party, the governing All Progressives’ Congress, had freely and fairly won the popular mandate of Nigerians, which has since given rise to my leadership of this great nation at a tumultuous period of unprecedented reforms in our history as a nation.

“With deep gratitude to God Almighty, I solemnly and humbly accept today’s judicial victory with an intense sense of responsibility and a burning desire to meet the great challenges confronting our people.”

IT IS TIME TO BUILD OUR GREAT NATION TOGETHER

I welcome the verdict of the Justice John I. Okoro-led Panel of the Supreme Court on the Presidential Election petitions filed by the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party and the Labour Party, challenging the ruling of the…

— Bola Ahmed Tinubu (@officialABAT) October 26, 2023

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Now that the president has his victory, he most certainly has to be sticking his neck into the quite difficult job of enabling Nigeria for the prosperity he has illustrated in his Renewed Hope strategy, which wants to gear up for massive local manufacturing that helps to cut down FOREX-draining imports and inspire institutional reforms that slice through the federal civil service.

Even though the president has been vocal about what he wants to do, the inflationary pressure that Nigerians are going through with daily living has not made him a tasty choice. The people have enormous expectations of him and how to unite them to shun taking sides is already a huge obstacle that he must overcome. With more than half of the electorate voting against him, the task is even more daunting.

In assigning portfolios, an interesting approach of President Bola Tinubu has been the inclusion of youth to lead digital enterprises and lubricate the oil and gas industry to yield badly needed FOREX. But that probably will not earn him all the acceptance he is hoping this Supreme Court verdict will fetch him.

Ayodele Johnson

Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.