*Congratulatory Message to President-Elect Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu* - Tinubu, a cerebral and compassionate leader

I most heartily congratulate my benefactor and mentor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima, on this amazing victory.

Having worked in very close quarters with him, I know how much passion he has for Nigeria and how deep his desire to help the poor goes.

Nigeria could not have picked a more cerebral and compassionate leader to carry forward the work that has been done by President Muhammadu Buhari in the last eight years.

Today’s victory is testament to the President-Elect’s decades of investment in people, relationships, and institutions. His story is filled with testimonies of the strategic solutions he applied to problems that were thought to be unsolvable. He took on the Atlantic Ocean and defeated. I am certain that he will lead Nigeria to economic excellence and peaceful coexistence.

Now that we have arrived on the other side of the murky waters of electioneering, it is time we all passed around the towel of understanding and patriotism. I implore the members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to be magnanimous in their triumph and resist the urge to aggravate our opponents. I also call on the opposition to look at the final result as the true will of the people that has come after a fair and free contest. Nigeria’s success is far more important than personal egos.

I, therefore, call on men and women of conscience to see the election as a process, however imperfect it might be, and let the country heal. We cannot afford another crisis.

Once again, I congratulate the President-Elect and the Vice President-Elect on this outstanding feat. Nigerians, congratulations on voting in the most competent team on offer. May God grant them the strength and wisdom to deliver good governance to the people.

*Chief Sunday Akin Dare*

*Honourable Minister of Sports and Youth Development*