The 2023 presidential and National Assembly elections in Nigeria were fiercely contested by 18 political parties, including the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Labour Party (LP), and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), among others. In the early hours of Wednesday, March 1, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of the APC as the winner of the February 25 presidential election. Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State, was named President-elect after receiving 8,794,726 votes, surpassing other candidates such as PDP’s Atiku Abubakar, LP’s Peter Obi, and NNPP’s Rabiu Kwankwaso. However, Tinubu’s victory was accompanied by significant upsets in the elections that reshaped Nigeria’s political landscape.
One notable upset occurred in Lagos State, where Peter Obi of the Labour Party defeated Bola Tinubu, marking the first time in over two decades that Tinubu faced such an electoral loss in his political stronghold. Having served as governor from 1999 to 2007 and as a senator during the brief Third Republic, Tinubu is often regarded by his supporters as the “builder of Lagos.” Despite having a sitting governor from the APC, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Obi’s Labour Party won nine local government areas in Lagos, polling a total of 575,735 votes compared to Tinubu’s 573,001 votes. Atiku Abubakar received 75,750 votes, while Rabiu Kwankwaso garnered 88,442 votes.
In another significant development, the National Chairman of the APC, Abdullahi Adamu, lost his polling unit to the Labour Party in Nasarawa State. Adamu cast his vote at Angwarimi Ward, where the LP candidate received 132 votes, while the APC garnered 85 votes. Additionally, in Kaduna State, Governor Nasir El-Rufai of the APC was defeated by Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, who secured 554,360 votes against Tinubu’s 399,293 votes. The Labour Party followed with 294,494 votes, and the APC also lost all three senatorial seats in the National Assembly elections in the state.
In Cross River State, Governor Ben Ayade lost his bid to return to the Senate, being defeated by incumbent senator Jarigbe Agom-Jarigbe of the PDP, who received 76,145 votes compared to Ayade’s 56,595 votes. Similarly, in Benue State, Governor Samuel Ortom lost to APC candidate Titus Zam, who polled 143,151 votes against Ortom’s 106,882 votes. Ortom, part of the G-5 group of aggrieved PDP governors, had supported Obi in the presidential election.
In the Abia South senatorial race, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu lost to Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, who received 49,693 votes, while Ikpeazu garnered 28,422 votes. In Kebbi State, Governor Atiku Bagudu lost his senatorial bid to Senator Adamu Aliero of the PDP, who scored 126,588 votes to Bagudu’s 92,389 votes. Additionally, in Taraba State, Governor Darius Ishaku lost to APC’s David Jimkuta, who polled 85,415 votes compared to Ishaku’s 45,708 votes.
In Kogi State, Abubakar Sadiku-Ohere of the APC was declared the winner of the Kogi Central Senatorial District election, defeating PDP candidate Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan by a narrow margin of 369 votes. In the House of Representatives, popular musician Olubankole Wellington (Banky W) of the PDP and Babajide Obanikoro of the APC lost the Eti-Osa seat to Thaddeus Attah of the Labour Party, who received 24,075 votes. Similarly, Senate spokesperson Ajibola Bashiru of the APC lost his re-election bid to PDP candidate Olubiyi Fadeyi, who scored 134,229 votes.
The Deputy Minority Whip, Segun Adekoya of the PDP, also failed to secure his seat in Ogun State, losing to APC candidate Adegbesan Joseph. Meanwhile, Ndudi Elumelu, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, lost his seat to the Labour Party’s Ngozi Okolie. As the country looks ahead, all eyes are on the upcoming governorship elections on March 11, where the contest is expected to be intense. Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the APC is seeking re-election in Lagos, facing challenges from Labour Party candidate Gbadebo Rhodes and PDP’s Dr. Olajide Adediran, known as Jandor. The fate of G-5 member Seyi Makinde, who is also seeking re-election in Oyo State, will be determined in this election, especially after the APC’s success in the February 25 presidential election in the state.
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