President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated George Weah on his election as the next President of the Republic of Liberia.
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina said in a statement, Buhari also commended the Liberian people on the peaceful conduct of the historic presidential run-off election, stressing that “this is another plus on Africa’s democratic scoreboard.”
He equally applauded the efforts of the National Election Commission of Liberia, as well as regional and international observers who have contributed immensely to the electoral process and the strengthening of post-conflict democracy in the West African country.
“Describing Weah’s victory as an affirmation of the will of the Liberian people to remain united, peaceful and prosperous, President Buhari pledged Nigeria’s readiness to work with Liberia on issues of mutual interest at bilateral, regional and global levels for the benefit of citizens of both countries,” the statement read.
Buhari also commended outgoing President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, under whose 12-year watch Liberia had transformed from being a pariah state to a country doing remarkably well on many fronts such as, women and civil rights issue, peace building and consolidation, ECOWAS and the Mano River Union.
He also noted that President Sirleaf deserves special commendation for the statesmanship she has shown in ensuring free and fair elections that will pave the way for a peaceful transfer of political power from one democratically elected leader to another for the first time in 73 years.
“Wishing President-elect Weah and Liberians a peaceful transition, he reassures them of Nigeria’s determination to sustain the current cordial relationship with Liberia,” the statement read.
Also, former President Goodluck Jonathan has congratulated Liberia’s President-elect, George Weah.
Jonathan, who had just returned from Monrovia after leading the National Democratic Institute (NDI) International Elections Observation Mission to Liberia, posted the goodwill message to Weah on his Facebook page, on Friday.
Jonathan, advised Weah to maintain his open door policy in his new position, saying “everybody is a winner when democracy wins, and democracy has won today”.
Weah, a retired international footballer and standard bearer of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) was declared winner on Friday after the Boxing Day run-off polls by Liberia’s national electoral commission.
Jonathan also commended Liberians for demonstrating the willingness to give democracy a
chance.
“Throughout my political life, I have lived by the creed that nobody’s political ambition is worth the blood of their citizens.
“I am most grateful to the nation of Liberia and especially the candidates, Weah and Mr Joseph Boakai, for living up to this creed.
“As co-leader of the NDI International Elections Observation Mission to Liberia for these elections, I salute the zest for democracy of the Liberian people.”
Jonathan and other leaders of the NDI delegation had in a preliminary
statement issued in Monrovia on Thursday, acclaimed the polls as peaceful, orderly and well-organized.
Speaking of his experienced on the field on voting day, Jonathan said: “I am proud of Liberians, who have come from crisis to democracy and have shown themselves to be a model of peace and stability in the region.
“Democracy goes beyond election day, and if Liberia succeeds, West Africa succeeds, Africa succeeds, and the world succeeds.”
In the same vein, Kosovo’s former President Atifete Jahjaga, also congratulated the people of Liberia for exercising their right to vote and for making a historic step towards the consolidation of democracy in their country.
“It is my hope that the positive trends that we have observed during this election will be sustained and further improved during future elections
