Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been declared the winner of Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, announced Tinubu’s victory at 4:10 am in Abuja today, making him Nigeria’s 16th leader since independence in 1960.
Tinubu secured a total of 8,794,726 votes to defeat his closest rival, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who scored 6,984,520 votes, and Peter Obi of the Labour party with 6,101,533 votes. Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) came in fourth with 1,496,687 votes.
According to Yakubu, the registered voters for the election were 93,469,008, with 25,286,616 voters accredited. The total valid votes were 24,025,940, while the total rejected votes were 939,278. The total number of votes cast was 24,965,218.
In his declaration, Yakubu said, “I certify that I am the returning officer for the 2023 presidential election held on the 25th of February 2023. That Tinubu Bola Ahmed of the APC, having satisfied the requirements of the law is hereby declared the winner and returned elected. The Certificate of Return to the president-elect and Vice president-elect will take place here at 3 pm today.”
The INEC chairman stated that a statement would be issued today on when the presentation of certification for Senators and Members of the House of Representatives-elect would take place.
Yesterday, Tinubu took action to prevent Atiku and Obi from stopping the ongoing collation and announcement of election results. Tinubu and his running mate filed a motion on notice and an originating summons in a Federal High Court in Kano, requesting that the defendants be restrained from stopping the collation and announcement of results. Meanwhile, INEC assured the public that the polls would be reviewed if necessary in accordance with the Electoral Act.
The Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) supported the continuation of the collation of presidential election results despite public misgivings. The PDP, LP, and ADC called for Yakubu to stand down from overseeing the election process, citing his alleged biases. The national leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) also demanded that INEC explain why the BVAS machines were not used on election day. Additionally, protesters from different political parties demanded electronic transmission of results at the Presidential Collation Centre in Abuja. Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, clarified that the upper chamber never approved the electronic transmission of results in the Electoral Act it passed. Yakubu stated that the election would be reviewed where necessary in accordance with section 65 of the Electoral Act. IPAC urged INEC to continue the collation process despite the challenges faced.