Tanko Yakasai to Tinubu: Run an inclusive government | Nigerians should have sense of belonging

Tanko Yakasai, an elder statesman, says Bola Tinubu, president-elect, should run an inclusive government that will give every citizen a sense of belonging.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Tinubu the winner of the election having secured 8,794,726 votes to defeat Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who got 6,984,520 votes, and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) who polled 6,101,533 votes.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, Yakasai asked Tinubu to re-introduce the national development plan which is regarded as a route to nation-building.

The 98-year-old Kano politician said Abubakar and the other contestants should concede defeats and congratulate the president-elect.

“My call is to the winner, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he said.

“I am sending my congratulations to you for this well-deserved victory and I urge you to run an all-inclusive government that will give every Nigerian from all parts of the country a sense of belonging

“I must congratulate Nigerians on the peaceful election conducted by INEC. I also commend the federal government for giving INEC all the necessary support without which this success wouldn’t have been possible.”

Yakasai expressed dismay over former president Olusegun Obasanjo’s call to cancel the election.

“I will say that I am disappointed by Obasanjo’s sudden appeal, it came to him as an afterthought,” he said.

“It was not a well-prepared statement, but I am glad that people did not listen to him and the election has been conducted peacefully all over the country and the outcome has been respected by Nigerians and the international community.”