Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja

Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, has said that the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party PDP, Atiku Abubakar’s plans to head to the court to challenge the result of Saturday’s presidential election is not sending jitters down the spines of President Muhammadu Buhari and his supporters.

President Buhari, polled a total of 15,191,847 to defeat Atiku and 71 others. Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said Atiku garnered 11,262,978 to place second in the poll.

The PDP candidate on Wednesday rejected the outcome of the election, declaring that it was not free, fair and that it was full of many irregularities.

The former Vice President, therefore, said that he would challenge the outcome in court.

Mustapha while fielding questions from State House correspondents on Wednesday night after a thank-you dinner for the presidential campaign organisation in the Villa by President Buhari, said the country’s constitution and the Electoral Act have provided that whoever is not satisfied with results of an election should approach the courts.

According to the SGF, “We are not jittery at all because the process was open and transparent. It was a credible election and we will continue to savour in the victory but in the process too, we will extend the hand of friendship for the purpose of nation-building and reconciliation.

“Our Electoral Act and the constitution have both provided a window for whoever is dissatisfied with the process of election to seek redress. That is the path, and we will encourage them to go along that path,” he said.

Mustapha assured Nigerians that President Buhari would do more for them in his second term, especially in the area of infrastructure development.

He said: “Looking into the future of the country, the president is very clear about what he wants to do. He will stand on the three pivot points that he pushed forward in 2015; securing the nation, diversifying the economy and also fighting corruption with all intensity.

“There will be inclusiveness all over the place. This is one government that has really invested in social infrastructure by bringing up people who are below the poverty level out of poverty, There are so many things that we are looking forward to and I am very thrilled and grateful that we had this opportunity to now consolidate on the tenets and gains of our democracy.”

The SGF added that Buhari’s victory was a confirmation of the trust bestowed on him by Nigerians, adding that the president was excited because it was a victory for democracy and Nigerians.

“The people of Nigeria have spoken through their votes and reconfirmed their faith and trust in the person of President Muhammad Buhari.

“Having seen how he governed the country in the past three and half years, Nigerians have every reason to be grateful for his re-election.

“It was an election where we did not campaign with promises, our campaign was based on our scorecards,” he said.

According to him, “we were able to tell the people of Nigeria where we were when we took over in 2015 and what we have been able to achieve.”

Mustapha recalled that the president had in 2015 anchored his campaign on three platforms, security, diversification of the economy and fight against corruption.

He recalled that about 17 local government areas were under the territorial control of Boko Haram in the North East when the president took over.

“But today, the whole area has been liberated with minor challenges as it is expected in that kind of insurgency situation.

“Relatively, there has been the restoration of peace and calm in the North-East although, we still have some spots of problems in the North-West and North-Central zones of the country.

“It has been the resolve of the president to do everything to ensure that every part of the country is secured before it can be governed,” he added