Former federal legislator Ben Murray Bruce has expressed his belief that Atiku Abubakar, representing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and his counterpart from the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, should not have resorted to legal action to contest the victory of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the first place.

This viewpoint comes in response to Tinubu’s success at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, which occurred on a Wednesday.

Atiku and Peter Obi have initiated legal proceedings challenging the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s declaration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the winner of the 2023 presidential election. Unfortunately, they encountered a significant setback in their legal battle to remove Tinubu from the presidency during the recent proceedings.

Both Atiku and Peter Obi are now taking their case to the Supreme Court, where the matter will ultimately be resolved. However, Ben Murray-Bruce believes that they should never have embarked on this legal journey in the first place. He suggests that they could have spared themselves the trouble by following the example set by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015. At that time, Jonathan promptly congratulated Muhammadu Buhari even before the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officially announced the final election results.

Bruce emphasizes that once the electoral commission has declared a winner in an election, there should be no need for further expenditure of time and resources in challenging the outcome.

“We must follow the Jonathan doctrine and accept the people’s verdict in the interest of democracy and the nation,” he wrote.

“Our elections don’t have to end in the courts,” he insisted.

The prominent member of the PDP went on to offer guidance, suggesting that the politicians who feel dissatisfied should acknowledge the Tribunal’s decision and prioritize the greater good of the nation over their personal interests.

“Bola Ahmed Tinubu, @officialABAT, is the duly elected and undisputed President of Nigeria, @NGRPresident,” he said, adding that there should be no further doubts and dispute after the judgement.