Nigeria’s ruling party candidate Bola Tinubu declared Nigeria’s President-elect after garnering 8.8m votes against Atiku Abubakar who got 6.9m votes as Peter Obi comes third with 6.1m votes.
Tinubu’s declaration comes days after criticism by observers for widespread logistical failings, violence that suppressed the vote and complaints from opposition parties.
Tinubu, the former two-term governor of Lagos has been a towering figure in Nigerian politics. The wealthy power broker is referred to as a political godfather who helped outgoing president Muhamadu Buhari win the presidency in 2015. Tinubu is credited for turning Lagos into one of the biggest economies in Africa while serving as governor of the state from 1999 to 2007.
With a campaign slogan was “emi lo kan” in his native Yoruba — “It’s my turn, Tinubu won just over 36% of the vote in one of the most tightly contested polls since the end of military rule. He lost in his home state of Lagos but won by a clear margin in the rest of the country defeating 76-year-old Atiku Abubakar, a six–time presidential contestant, and 61-year-old Peter Obi of the Labour party who galvanized huge support from young voters disaffected with the traditional political class.
