As it is, Nigeria has a new President-elect, as the nation’s electoral umpire has declared Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the 2023 Presidential elections.
Jagaban, as he is fondly called won in 12 states of the country, garnering over 8.7 million votes, to defeat his closest opponent, Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) who also won in 12 states but garnered over 6.9 million votes, with Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) coming third with over 6.1 million votes.
Admittedly, the election has not been without incident. There have been allegations of vote-rigging from several quarters with some members of the PDP and LP even accusing INEC Chairman, Mahmoood Yakubu of complacence in result-manipulation and calling for his resignation.
The polls were marred with violence in several parts of the country, with no fewer than four persons confirmed dead. Also, many others have been confirmed injured as hoodlums descended on innocent voters and poll workers across the country.
Tinubu’s victory has been greeted with mixed reactions from the populace, with his supporters hailing him as a decisive leader who will unify the country going forward, while others are sceptical about his ability to deliver on his promises.
Before the elections, the electoral commission had promised Nigerians a free and fair elections where results would be transmitted in real time from polling units to its website through the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS). However, this was not the case during the election as INEC claimed that it faced technical glitches which tied its hands. This development made voters losing trust in the electioneering process under INEC, with claims of doctored results flying around social media platforms in the wake of the election.
Because of these failings, the PDP and the Labour Party have rejected the results as fraudulent.
While speaking during his acceptance speech, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu noted that being elected president is a serious mandate, one which he will be more than happy to accept. However, he commended INEC “I commend INEC for running a credible election no matter what anybody says,” Tinubu said. “The lapses that were reported, they were relatively few in number and were immaterial to affect the final outcome of the election.”
Speaking after Asiwaju was declared as the president-elect, incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari hailed Asiwaju as the best person for the job. The current president also hailed the election as the nation’s most competitive so far, while describing the results as one that reveals Nigeria’s ripening democracy. In response to the opposition’s rejection of the election results, President Muhammadu Buhari challenged any candidate that believes and can prove the fraud they claim to bring their evidence forward and take the matter to the courts if they need to challenge the results.