Nigeria’s electoral commission, INEC, has declared Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the candidate of Nigeria’s ruling party, APC, as the winner of Saturday’s presidential election.
In the election, Mr. Tinubu defeated 17 other contenders. He received the highest number of votes (8,794,726) overall, which satisfied the first constitutional condition to be declared the winner.
Moreover, he received more than 25% of the votes cast in 30 states, which is more than the constitutionally required 24 states.
The chairman of INEC Mahmood Yakubu, who made the official results announcement in the early hours of Wednednesday, March 1st, 2023 in Abuja, stated that Tinubu, the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress party, received nearly 8.8 million votes to win in the most heated contest since Nigeria became a democracy.
Read Also: The Biography of Bola Ahmed Tinubu: Early life and education, age, career & personal life
In the election, PDP candidate Atiku Abubakar came in second. Atiku polled a total of 6,984,520 votes in the election.
With a total of 6,101,533 votes, Peter Obi of the Labour Party finished third, and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the NNPP finished fourth with 1,496,687 votes.
At the National Collation Center on Wednesday by 3 p.m., a Certificate of Return for the President and Vice President would be given, according to Mr. Yakubu.
Only the top four candidates were successful in winning at least one state for the presidency. While Mr. Kwankwaso only won in Kano, Messrs. Tinubu, Atiku, and Obi won in 12 states each.
However, to be declared the election’s winner, a candidate does not necessarily need to win a majority of the states.
References:
- BBC News Pidgin: Bola Tinubu win Nigeria presidential election 2023
- Voice of Africa: Nigeria’s Electoral Commission Declares Tinubu Winner of Presidential Election
- Premium Times: INEC declares APC’s Bola Tinubu winner of Nigeria’s presidential election
- The Guardian: INEC declares Bola Tinubu winner of 2023 presidential election
