Liberia Presidential Election: Emulate George Weah Spirit of sportsmanship, Labour Party Tells Peter Obi, Atiku
Labour Party has berated the hard stance of the Presidential Candidate of People’s Democratic Party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and his Labour Party counterpart, Mr Peter Obi to embrace the spirit of sportsmanship and work with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to pilot the affairs of the country to greater heights.
Labour Party in a statement signed by Dr Abayomi Arabambi, the National Publicity Secretary of the Party while reacting to the congratulatory message issued by the outgoing Liberia President, George Weah to the opposition candidate, Joseph Boakai
Read the full statement below
LABOUR PARTY URGED PETER OBI AND ATIKU ABUBAKAR TO EMULATE PRESIDENT GEORGE WEAH OF LIBERIA BY CONGRATULATING PRESIDENT BOLA AHMED TINUBU(GCFR)
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader”.
– John Quincy Adams
The Liberian Presidential Elections though still on as the electoral umpire is yet to declare the winner of the election, the results so far has compelled the incumbent President George Weah to congratulate the opposition candidate, Bokabai, who is obvious the winner.
Labour Party believed that it’s instructive that election like any competition would produce the winner and loser. This is why the behaviour and reaction of President George Weah even before the official announcement of the results of the presidential election in Liberia to his loss should be commended and African leaders should emulate.
So far, Bokabai is leading with over 28000 votes leaving a polling unit where voting has not commenced and 20 polling units results are under scrutiny. Whatever comes from the above would not in anyway affects the results so far collated.
Nigerian leaders should emulate this spirit of sportsmanship. Once both the winners and losers have explored all the available processes and opportunities provided by the laws and constitution, the winners should be magnanimous in victory and the losers should be sportsmen and return to the drawing table for the next election.
Any election should not be taken as do or die affairs. It should not be a war, a battle. We need ourselves.
President George Weah of Liberia again has shown like Former Presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari that incumbency is not a tool to be used to rig election and opposition should not be intimated by incumbency.
Electorate is the decider. Political parties compete for power by directing all their slogans, programmes and attention to the electorate. The people have spoken in Republic of Liberia. President George Weah has accepted the decision of the Liberian voters.
The time is ripe for former Vice-president and PDP presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and former Governor of Anambra State and presidential candidate of LP, Mr. Peter Obi to congratulate the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu after the former had explored all the opportunities availed by the Constitution and the Electoral Law.
and the incumbent who in spite of losing his second term as President yesterday did not wait for anyone before he congratulate the winner.
As a responsible leader, the former President Goodluck Jonathan also did same like George Weah, and today he is being reckoned with as a great pillar of democracy.
Labour Party therefore appealed to Obi’ and Atiku to support the administration and have faith in ongoing reforms.
We had expected the duo have buried the hatchet and join hands with the president in delivering the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Labour Party believed that the sanctity of the people’s will, as expressed at the polls, had prevailed immediately the Supreme Court delivered it’s verdict, so politics should have ended with that pronouncement.
”With the apex court ruling affirming the legitimacy of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration, electoral litigation has come to an end; Peter Obi should stop whipping a dead horse and what else does he want anyway.
Peter OBI and Atiku should exhibit the spirit of sportsmanship and congratulate the president and join hands with him to revamp the economy and deliver dividends of democracy to Nigerians,”
Lastly Labour Party wishes to end this statement with the golden words from Dr Martins Luther king Jnr
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter”
Nigerians masses through the Labour Party therefore asked the two former presidential candidates to congratulate the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu(GCFR) in the spirit of one united Nigeria as we can not choose to remain silent in the face of political and economic challenges that is facing our country and which President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is working hard to overcome through the RENEWED HOPE AGENDA .
Dr Abayomi Arabambi (FBAU)
National Publicity Secretary
18th November 2023
