President Muhammadu Buhari Friday in Abuja said he would have been traumatized if he had watched the delivery of the judgment of the Election Petitions Tribunal on the petitions filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, against his victory at the February 23, 2019 presidential poll.
The tribunal had dismissed the petitions of Atiku which challenged the president’s victory. Speaking while receiving the All Progressives Congress (APC) governors and the National Chairman of APC in the State House, Buhari said he was thankful that his re-election was upheld by the tribunal. The president, who emphasized that it would have been traumatic for him if he had watched the judgment which went on for several hours, said the delivery period coincided with the maiden Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in the State House on Wednesday.
“On this judgment, again it was a fabulous coincidence that it came almost the same time the first Federal Executive Council meeting of this government was taking place. “It lasted about the same time with the judgment. I thank God for that because I think I would have gone into trauma or something,” he said.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari will Saturday leave Abuja to attend a one-day ECOWAS Heads of State and Government Extraordinary Summit on counter-terrorism, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. A statement by Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said the summit had been called by West African leaders to address the growing threat of terrorism in West African sub-region.
According to him, the summit will review different initiatives taken so far and redefine the priority intervention areas for the containment of worrisome attacks in the sub-region. Adesina also explained that the decision to convene the summit was reached at the 55th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of States and Governments in Abuja on June 29, 2019.
“President Buhari recognises the imperative of collective actions in the fight against terrorism, and will continue to partner with ECOWAS member states and international organizations to address the menace. In Ouagadougou, ECOWAS leaders are expected to adopt a priority action plan on counter-terrorism and put in place a mechanism to monitor the implementation of the measures adopted towards ensuring lasting peace in the sub-region,” Adesina said.
He added that Buhari would be accompanied by three governors – Abubakar Bello (Niger), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun) Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia) as well as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama and the Minister of Defence, Major-General Bashir Magashi (retd). Also listed to be on the entourage are the National Security Adviser, Maj-General Babagana Monguno (retd), and Director-General, National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Amb. Ahmed Rufai Abubakar.
Adesina said the president would be back in Abuja at the end of the summit.
