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A former Senator, Ben Murray-Bruce, has faulted the narrative being peddled by some citizens who think President Bola Tinubu isn't their president.
A seven-member panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice Inyang Okoro on Thursday, October 26, 2023, unanimously affirmed the victory of Tinubu in the February 25 presidential election.
Reading the lead judgement, Justice Okoro dismissed the petitions filed by Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi, who had sought to overturn the verdict of the presidential election tribunal, which had upheld the president's victory.
However, some aggrieved Nigerians, particularly opposition supporters, have resorted to ridiculing the presidency by refusing to accept Tinubu as their president.
For his part, Ben Bruce said the apex court decision had put finality on the election litigation, urging both Obi and Atiku to congratulate Tinubu in the spirit of sportsmanship.
The former lawmaker also rebuked those who have refused to accept the court verdict, describing their stance as frivolous and unhelpful.
"It is only right, fitting, and sportsmanly for both Waziri Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi to congratulate President Bola Tinubu for his victory in the #NigerianElections2023.
'There must be an end to litigation, and the Supreme Court must end it," Ben Bruce wrote on his X (formerly Twitter) account on Friday, October 27, 2023.
The former Senator said, "All talk by some persons that 'Bola Tinubu is not my President' is frivolous and unhelpful," adding that "As long as you call yourself a citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, you do not have 'your' President.
"Nigeria has a President, and whether you like it or not, he presides over you as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and Head of the State," he added.
He also called on the PDP to unify their ranks to be able to provide virile opposition to the current government, noting that disunity had been the death knell of the party in the last three election cycles since 2015.
"The Peoples Democratic Party must now play their role as Nigeria's most viable opposition party. It is incumbent on them to work on unifying their ranks.
"Disunity and treachery against President Goodluck Jonathan cost them the 2015 election. Disunity also cost them this election. If they allow it to repeat itself a third time, they are done.
"To the youths of Nigeria, do not allow anybody, whether candidate, party, or TV station, to set you against the government. The future is yours, as Millennials, not ours, the fifties and sixties generation. Use it well. Organise now for 2027, or agonise when it is 2027," Ben Bruce said.