By Khulile Thwala
Former Lagos governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu has won Nigeria’s presidential election, officials said on Wednesday.
The announcement marked a victory for the ruling party despite the unpopularity of its outgoing President, Muhammadu Buhari. The opposition, including the campaigns of both outsider candidate Peter Obi and former vice president Atiku Abubakar, have vowed to contest the results.
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They are saying that a new election should be held under a new elections chief. At a news conference Tuesday afternoon, opposition figures alleged widespread technological problems, delays in poll openings on Election Day, violence and voter intimidation, and manipulation of results.
Pockets of protest, including in the capital, Abuja, emerged Tuesday, and political analysts warned it could spread. Leaders of the opposition and ruling parties called for calm.
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Tinubu, 70, known as a kingmaker in Nigerian politics, received 36 per cent of more than 24 million votes cast, according to results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
He also received over 25 per cent of the vote in more than two-thirds of Nigeria’s 36 states and Abuja, thus meeting both requirements to win Nigeria’s presidency.
In his acceptance speech early Wednesday, Tinubu promised to be a leader for all Nigerians — including those who had not supported him.
