ECOWAS congratulates Tinubu, asks stakeholders to address grievances constitutionally

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has congratulated Nigeria’s President-elect Bola Tinubu.   Umaru Embaló, chair of the ECOWAS authority of heads of state and government, conveyed the congratulatory message in a statement on Wednesday.   Nigerians went to the polls on Saturday to elect a president and members of the national assembly.   On Wednesday, Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), announced Tinubu as the winner of the presidential election.   Tinubu defeated Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) with a total of 8,794,726 votes.   While Abubakar polled 6,984,520, Obi scored 6,101,533 votes.   Embaló said stakeholders must ensure peace is sustained by attending to all grievances following the constitution.    “On behalf of His excellency general Umaru Sissoco Embaló, chair of the ECOWAS authority of heads of state and government and the entire ECOWAS leadership, we wish to convey our heartfelt congratulations to his excellency senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu on his election as president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the statement reads.   “His excellency general Embaló appeals to all the stakeholders to promote peace and to use constitutional means to address any grievances they may have.”   Earlier, the ECOWAS had through its electoral observation team, listed violence, ballot, and BVAS device snatching as some of the challenges that affected the efficiency of Saturday’s polls in Nigeria.