Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the party leader of All Progressive Congress (APC), was declared the winner of the presidential election on Wednesday morning by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after garnering 36.6% of the votes cast.
According to INEC, the 70-year-old veteran politician received 8.8 million votes, representing 36.6% of the votes cast, compared to his main rival, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who served as Vice President from 1999-2007, received 6.9 million votes, representing 29% of the votes cast, and Labour Party leader Peter Obi, who received 6.1 million votes, representing 25% of the votes cast.
Mahmood Yakubu, the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), declared Mr. Tinubu the winner at the National Collation Centre in Abuja after the election’s final count. Mr. Tinubu served as governor of Lagos state from 1999 to 2007.
His win comes just after the rival parties had earlier criticized the election as rigged and called for a rerun. Despite health concerns and previous corruption allegations, the two-term Lagos state governor will succeed President Muhammadu Buhari, who has served the country for two terms.
Mr. Tinubu called upon his fellow contestants to come together so that they can work together to build the nation into a better place as he expressed his gratitude to his voters.
“For any guy, this is a defining moment, and it confirms the existence of democracy. With your assistance, I know I stand for a promise that will be kept,” he said.
