By Clifford Ndujihe

FORMER Presidential Candidate and a chieftain of the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, Mr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim has congratulated President Bola Tinubu on his victory at the Supreme Court, which validated his February 25 election, and urged him to now face the job of “rescuing Nigerians from the daily grim realities they face, with more seriousness.”

The apex court, last Thursday dismissed the appeals of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP; and Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party, LP, seeking to set aside the September 6 ruling of the Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, that affirmed Tinubu’s victory.

Congratulating President Tinubu on his victory, Olawepo-Hashim said “As the one with the democratic mandate, he has more work to do with the economy hit by its worst inflation in over 20, and the Nation’s currency devalued at 80% in four months of his administration at the unofficial market.”

In a statement, Olawepo-Hashim said that “hitting the ground running now would not be enough as he now needs to fly when needed.”

He also commended Atiku and Obi, saying: “The dogged but civil challenges mounted by the duo after the election are important contributions to our democracy and would enrich our Jurisprudence,” adding: “Both the winner and those whose petitions did not succeed at the courts must now commit themselves as leaders to the important tasks of uniting the country, securing the nation and rescuing the economy, and improving the welfare of her people.

The former presidential candidate also recalled that “before and after the election, we had counseled severally that the Post -Buhari Administration must be a Government of National Unity akin to the post-civil war cabinet of General Gowon, owing to the severe fracture of the polity and the horrendous damage to the economy.”

He said “Some people in their opinion after the election had dismissed the suggestion, arguing instead that what is needed is a government of ‘national competence.’ The country is now impatiently waiting to see the ‘competence’ as the people’s welfare takes a turn for the worse.”

He stressed that “important national responsibilities cannot be a gift for yes boys and girls at moments of severe national crises such as we are currently in.”

He also counseled that “the opposition party (PDP), which divided its rank into three and a half during the build-up to the 2023 election, has a job to do if it must be relevant to Nigeria’s immediate political future.”

Olawepo-Hashim added that “Nigeria demands more seriousness from all political leaders as the grim realities that Nigerians confront daily is not the occasion for pettiness and shodiness.”