The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the president-elect of Nigeria. Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State, won the 2023 presidential election by securing 8,794,726 votes. INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, announced Tinubu’s victory at the International Collation Centre in Abuja during the early hours of Wednesday. He triumphed over other contenders, including Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peter Obi of the Labour Party, and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP). Each of the three leading candidates won in 12 states, while Kwankwaso managed to secure only Kano State. Tinubu surpassed Atiku, his closest rival and a former vice president, by a margin of at least 1.8 million votes.
This election marked Tinubu’s first attempt at the presidency, having previously served as a two-term governor of Lagos State until 2007. He is recognized for his role in leading the coalition that ousted the PDP from power in 2015 and has since expanded his political influence beyond the South-West region. In addition to Tinubu, Obi, Atiku, and Kwankwaso, numerous other candidates contested for the presidency. These included Dumebi Kachikwu from the African Democratic Congress, Kola Abiola from the People’s Redemption Party, Omoyele Sowore from the Africa Action Congress, Adewole Adebayo from the Social Democratic Party, Malik Ado-Ibrahim from the Young Progressive Party, and several others from various political parties.
According to the vote tally announced by electoral officials from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Tinubu garnered 252,282 votes in Borno State, where he was declared the winner by the state Collation Officer, Professor Jude Rabo. In contrast, Atiku and Obi received 190,921 votes and 7,205 votes, respectively, while Kwankwaso secured 4,626 votes. In Rivers State, Tinubu achieved 231,591 votes from 23 local government areas, with the Labour Party receiving 175,071 votes and the PDP obtaining 88,468 votes. However, the Federal Capital Territory proved to be a significant stronghold for the Labour Party, where Obi’s popularity earned him 281,717 votes, while Tinubu and Atiku shared the remaining votes, with 90,902 and 74,149, respectively. Kwankwaso received 4,517 votes in the FCT.
Despite some losses in certain regions, Tinubu compensated by performing well in several northern and middle-belt states, including Zamfara, Kwara, Kogi, and Benue. In Benue, the APC secured 310,468 votes, placing it ahead of the Labour Party, which received 308,372 votes, the PDP with 130,081 votes, and the NNPP with 4,740 votes. In Zamfara State, Tinubu polled 298,396 votes, while the Labour Party garnered only 1,660 votes, the NNPP received 4,044 votes, and the PDP obtained 193,978 votes. Obi, on the other hand, excelled in Plateau State, winning with 466,272 votes compared to the APC’s 307,195 votes, the PDP’s 243,808 votes, and the NNPP’s 8,869 votes.
The states won by Tinubu include Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Kwara, Ekiti, Kogi, Benue, Zamfara, and Jigawa. Atiku emerged victorious in Bauchi, Yobe, Gombe, Kaduna, Kebbi, Bayelsa, Adamawa, and Akwa Ibom. Meanwhile, Obi claimed victory in Lagos, Enugu, Cross River, Nasarawa, Imo, Anambra, Abia, Delta, Plateau states, and the Federal Capital Territory. In the final vote count, the APC received 8,794,726 votes, the PDP garnered 6,984,520 votes, the Labour Party scored 6,101,533 votes, and the NNPP accumulated 1,496,687 votes. Declaring Tinubu as the winner, the INEC Chairman stated, “That Tinubu Bola Ahmed of the APC, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and returned elected.”
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