- Bola Tinubu won the presidential election.
- Atiku Abubakar, received 29% of the vote, while Labour’s Peter Obi received 25%.
- He was not expected to win the party primary, yet he won.
Nigeria’s disputed presidential election has been declared won by ruling party candidate Bola Tinubu.
According to official findings, the 70-year-old experienced lawmaker received 37% of the vote.
His primary rival, Atiku Abubakar, received 29% of the vote, while Labour’s Peter Obi received 25%. These parties had already called the election a fraud and requested a rerun.
Mr. Tinubu is one of Nigeria’s wealthiest politicians, and his candidature is predicated on his record of rebuilding the country’s largest metropolis, Lagos, while he was governor.
He was ultimately beaten in the city by Mr. Obi, a relative newcomer who mobilized the support of many young people, especially in urban areas, shaking up the country’s two-party system.
Mr. Tinubu won the majority of the other states in his home region of the southwest, where he is renowned as a “political godfather” – someone who helps others get elected.
He campaigned for the presidency using the slogan: “It’s my turn”.
Mr. Tinubu urged reconciliation with his opponents in his acceptance address.
“I take this opportunity to appeal to my fellow contestants to let us team up together. It is the only nation we have. It is one country and we must build it together,” he said in a televised speech to the nation.
He said that they had the right to challenge the results in court but said that the lapses in the election “were relatively few in number and were immaterial to affect the outcome of this election”.
President Muhammadu Buhari is leaving office after two terms marked by economic stagnation and escalating insecurity across the country, ranging from an Islamic insurgency in the north-east to a statewide problem of abduction for ransom and separatist strikes in the south-east.
Mr. Tinubu now has the burden of tackling these problems, among others, in Africa’s most populous nation and greatest oil exporter.
Mr. Tinubu would believe that he was destined to become president after opposing military rule in Nigeria, fleeing into exile, and becoming one of the founding members of the country’s democracy in 1999.
He was always the favorite to succeed Mr. Buhari, whom he assisted in becoming president, and the obstacles he overcame to get here will make this victory more sweeter for him.
He was not expected to win the party primary, yet he won.
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