It is Official! Tinubu is President-elect

By Shola Oshunkeye

At exactly 4.10 a.m. local time, Wednesday, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, winner of last Saturday, February 25, 2023, and thereby duly elected presidential election.

The INEC boss said Tinubu polled  a total of 8,794,726, and scored 25 percent of total votes cast in   states of the Federation, including the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, to beat former Vice President and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and former Governor of Anambra State and candidate of Labour Party, LP, Mr. Peter Obi, to the second and third place respectively.

Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party, NNPP, Mallam Rabiu Kwankwaso came a distant fourth with 1,496,687. While Atiku Abubakar came second with 6,984,520, Peter Obi took third with 6,101,533.

A state-by-state tally shows that Tinubu won the vote in 30 states, far more than the constitutional provision. While Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi won in 12 states each, Rabiu Kwankwaso scored the highest vote only in Kano.

The declaration came amid calls by opposition parties and concerned citizens who called for a review of the election, even outright cancellation because, according to them, the election was seriously flawed and was marred by widespread infractions of the Electoral Act.

Celebration broke out in the camp of the APC immediately Prof. Yakubu declared Tinubu winner, with supporters dancing and gyrating wildly to Wasiu Ayinde’s timeless hit, Ade Ori Okin.

Tinubu will be presented with his certificate of return later in the day.