The candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, 70 won the first round of the February 25, 2023 presidential election in Nigeria.
A pillar of the Muhammadu Buhari regime and former Governor of Lagos State (1999-2007), Tinubu has long been considered a kingmaker. He will finally realize his dream and succeed the incumbent president, who did not seek re-election after two terms in office.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the APC candidate the winner of the February 25 election on Tuesday night with 37 percent of the votes in at least two-thirds of the 36 states of the Federation. According to the Electoral Commission, the leader of the
“progressive” party received 8.8 million votes, ahead of his rival Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, who received 29 percent of the vote, or 6.9 million votes, and Peter Obi of the Labor Party, who received 25 percent of the vote, or 6.1 million votes, according to a compilation of the votes state by state.
“Picking up the pieces”
As soon as he was declared the winner, the new strongman called on his rivals to unite to build Africa’s most populous nation (216 million people). “I call on my competitors to team up together. This is the only nation we have. This is a country that we have to build together,
to put back together the broken pieces. We must work in unity,” he said.
Nicknamed the “godfather” because of his political influence with the outgoing president and in the choice of his successors in Lagos, this accountant by profession, a former executive of the oil company Mobil, had already played a major role in the first election of Buhari in 2015 and his re-election in 2019.
The APC candidate had to work hard in the final days of the campaign to close the gap on Labour Party candidate Peter Obi, long considered the favourite in the polls. Obi (61), enjoys great popularity among young people. This popularity has enabled him to beat Tinubu in his
stronghold in Lagos and in the administrative capital of the country, Abuja, by sometimes close scores. Peter Obi also came out on top in Kano state, the country’s second most populous city.
Opposition demands new election
A Yoruba Muslim, the former senator will face immense challenges in this West African state, which in 2050 will become the third most populous country in the world. During his four-year term, he will have the tough task of turning around the economy of this English-speaking
giant and fighting against poverty, unemployment and recurrent violence by armed groups.
Bola Tinubu’s election is being contested by the two main opposition parties. Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar reject the results and are demanding a new election. They denounce the delays in putting the results online at the level of the electoral commission, which would have allowed massive fraud.
Observers from the Economic Community of West African States, led by former South African President Thabo Mbeki, said the February 25, 2023, election was “peaceful, although delays forced some voters to wait until the next day to cast their ballots.”
CD/fss/abj/APA