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Tinubu won the February 25 presidential election in Nigeria.
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His victory at the polls put him in a position to succeed President Buhari on May 29, 2023.
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He has been congratulated by countries across the world, including the United States (US).
Eko Hot Blog reports that the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has placed a call to President-elect Bola Tinubu.
Tinubu’s spokesperson, Tunde Rahman, made the disclosure in a statement Wednesday morning, saying the telephone conversation was “frank and friendly.”
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According to Rahman, Blinken initiated the call on Tuesday evening, pledging to strengthen Nigeria’s democracy and promote good relations.
On his part, President-elect Tinubu promised to hit the ground running and unify the country upon his assumption of office on May 29.
He further pledged to work to ensure continued positive relations with the US.
The President-elect said that among his immediate priorities would be to deliver institutional reforms and development programs to deepen our democratic institutions and bring help to poor and vulnerable Nigerians.
He also expressed his determination to strengthen Nigeria’s democracy and faithfully serve the people as their president.
“During the talks that lasted about 20 minutes, President-elect Tinubu spoke about his long and eventful sojourn in America, recalling how he was granted asylum by the US when, due to his determined struggle for democracy in Nigeria, he was forced into exile by the late General Sani Abacha’s military junta,” Rahman said.
“While affirming his democratic bona fides, President-elect Tinubu expressed his absolute belief that the result of the elections, which he clearly won, reflected the will of the Nigerian people.
“He said he would work to unite the country and ensure that Nigerians are happy and enjoy the benefits of democracy and progressive good governance.”
Responding to Secretary Blinken, the President-elect said without national unity, security, economic development and good governance, Nigeria would not become a better place to live in or play her proper role in the comity of African nations.
Tinubu was also said to have urged the US to factor in Nigeria’s important place in Africa and provide needed assistance in the areas of security and economic investment in order for the nation to lead the way and be a shining example to the rest of the continent.
“Secretary Blinken assured that Nigeria should expect a good and mutually-beneficial relationship with the US,” the statement reads.
“He promised to play his part in bringing a sustained and cordial relationship between the two nations to fruition, saying a democratic and peaceful Nigeria is important to the United States as it is to Africa.”
Rahman added that both President-elect Tinubu and Secretary Blinken ended their discussion with pleasant greetings and a promise to keep the channels of dialogue and communication open whilst maintaining a strong relationship between the two nations.
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Tinubu was declared president-elect after he polled 8,794,726 votes to defeat his opponents. His runner-up Atiku Abubakar of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), polled 6,984,520 votes, while Labour Party’s Peter Obi had 6,101,533 votes to come third.
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