Winners should be magnanimous in victory, says Obasanjo

Loses Ward To Buhari
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday, gave kudos to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for peaceful conduct of the polls.

Although electoral materials arrived almost two hours behind schedule, Obasanjo said the commission has greatly improved on its processes.Unlike previous elections in 2011 and 2015, Obasanjo said the card reader, as well as the entire process have been greatly improved upon.

He said: “At my polling station, the material arrived late for about two hours, which can be accommodated. Other than that, the process ran smoothly. I went through the card reader with my PVC and my photograph appeared. It was very orderly, even though there were many people waiting to cast their votes.”

While urging candidates to accept outcome of the election in good faith, the former president said: “ In any competition, there would always be winners and losers. What anybody in any competition must be prepared for as a good sportsman is, ‘if I win, I show magnanimity, if I lose, I will also bow out graciously.’ That is what any competition is all about.

“When going into a competition, you can’t say you must win at all cost. Then, it is no longer a competition.”Meanwhile, report has it that the former president lost his polling unit to President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC). At Obasanjo’s Ward 11, Unit 22, Olusomi’s Compound, Buhari polled 87 votes, while Atiku of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) polled 18.