BREAKING: INEC Declares APC’s Tinubu As President-elect

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as winner of the 2023 presidential election held last Saturday.

INEC chairman and Chief Returning Officer for the Federation, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, made the declaration at the National Collation Centre (NCC) in Abuja in the wee hours of Wednesday morning.

He said Tinubu of the APC, for scoring the majority of valid votes cast and having satisfied the requirements of the law was returned elected. Tinubu polled a total 8,805,655 votes to defeat his closest challenger and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Atiku Abubakar, who garnered 6,984,520 votes.

Atiku was trailed behind by the candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, who scored 6,098,798 votes and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) who distantly secured 1,496,687 votes.

LEADERSHIP reports that about 18 candidates of different political parties contested the February 25 presidential election, which was Nigeria’s 7th consecutive presidential election in this 4th Republic or since return of Nigeria to democracy in 1999.

The trio of Tinubu and Atiku won 12 States each with Obi winning 11 and FCT, while Kwankwaso only won in his native Kano State.

However, Obi proved bookmakers wrong by winning the election in some States outside his native South-East zone, the most shocking being the deafeat of Tinubu, a political kingmaker, in his Lagos State domain by the LP candidate.