Nigeria 2023 election: Bola Tinubu declared winner
Electoral body says Tinubu garnered 37 percent of the votes, while opposition candidate Abubakar received 29 percent.
This blog is now closed. Thanks for joining us. These were the updates on the election in Nigeria on Wednesday, March 1.
This blog is now closed. Thanks for joining us. These were the updates on the election in Nigeria on Wednesday, March 1.
- The electoral commission has declared ruling party candidate Bola Tinubu winner of Nigeria’s presidential election.
- Tinubu’s ruling All Progressives Congress party urged the opposition to accept defeat.
- The announcement is likely to lead to a court challenge by Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi who finished behind Tinubu.
- Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, Obi’s running mate, said a legal challenge was already being mounted.
- Observers said polls were mostly peaceful, though delays caused some voters to wait until the following day to cast their ballots.
Who is Bola Tinubu, Nigeria’s next president?
Labour Party denounces violence, voter intimidation during elections
The Labour Party’s vice presidential candidate is stressing the opposition’s refusal to accept the election results.
“The purported results did not meet the minimum criteria of a transparent, free and fair election,” Baba-Ahmed charged at a news conference.
He also accused the government of “attacks, violence, voter intimidation and suppression”.
2023 Election: Labour Party’s Stand On Election, By Senator Datti Baba Ahmed.
https://t.co/DVrr71adYy pic.twitter.com/wXfu0h4Oph
— LabourPartyNG (@NgLabour) March 1, 2023
UK PM congratulates Tinubu; foreign secretary encourages examination of opposition complaints
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has congratulated Tinubu on his election victory.
“The UK-Nigeria relationship remains strong. I look forward to working together to grow our security and trade ties, opening up opportunities for businesses and creating prosperity in both our countries,” Sunak said on Twitter.
Congratulations to @officialABAT on his victory in Nigeria.
The UK-Nigeria relationship remains strong. I look forward to working together to grow our security and trade ties, opening up opportunities for businesses and creating prosperity in both our countries.
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) March 1, 2023
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly joined the prime minister in congratulating Tinubu but encouraged Nigerian authorities to examine concerns raised by opposition parties over the election result.
“We note the position of opposition parties on the election outcome and the concerns expressed by observer missions and civil society about the organisation of the process, including delays and technical challenges,” Cleverly said in a statement.
“We encourage the authorities to examine all concerns carefully, take action to resolve outstanding issues and focus on delivering the will of the Nigerian people.”
‘Let’s meet them in court’
Ali Mohammed Ali, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), told Al Jazeera he was not surprised by the opposition’s decision to bring the election results to court and dismissed claims that the results were rigged.
“We had wished they had not taken that route because the election was conducted free and fair as far we could see, but if they insist they want to take that route we welcome them and let’s meet them in court,” Ali said.
The APC member also acknowledged some of the concerns related to votes not being transmitted electronically as it was previously planned. But noted that despite some glitches in the system the results were valid.
“We certainly understand some of these concerns, we also wished the election results were transmitted in real-time, but that doesn’t invalidate the results because as the electoral body explained every polling unit’s result would be computed and then an agent would certify that this is an authentic result and pictures would be taken. And all agents agreed that all the results at the polling units were genuine,” he said.
“In the history of Nigerian elections, every cycle, every looser … without variation … they would insist that they lost because they have been ‘rigged out’ – this time is no different,” he added when asked about allegations of collusion between his party and electoral officials.
Nigeria at a glance
Labour Party to challenge election results
The Labour Party will mount a legal challenge against the election of Boba Tinubu, the party’s vice presidential candidate Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed has said.
“We will go to court within the limit of the time. The legal people are putting the papers together,” he said, calling on supporters to remain peaceful.
Small protest in Nigeria’s capital Abuja
Currently, there’s a protest by a small group at Millennium Park, Abuja, opposite the Hilton, where many international observers are staying.
They are playing socially conscious Nigerian songs.
One of the songs was African China’s Mr President, a Nigerian classic with the lyrics: “Election for my country na paddy paddy, wayo wayo” which roughly translates to “Elections in my country are a thing of friends and usually fraudulent.”
Low voter turnout
With total votes cast at just under 25 million of 87 million people with voter identity cards and eligible to vote, turnout was only 29 percent – low, even by Nigerian standards.
The 2019 election saw 35 percent turnout.
What are the main issues dominating this election?
Security: Many Nigerians hope the new president will help stem the tide of violence and instability.
Economy: Millions of people in oil-rich Nigeria have seen their purchasing power decline as the country’s currency, the naira, has plummeted to a third of its value in the past five years.
Geopolitics: Experts say Nigeria is perceived as a stabilising force in West Africa, and another successful civilian-civilian transition would be key to establishing its influence in the region for good.
Nigerians celebrate after Tinubu wins election
Tinubu received 37 percent of the votes, or nearly 8.8 million, while main opposition candidate Abubakar won 29 percent with almost seven million.
Third-place finisher Obi took 25 percent with about 6.1 million, according to the results announced on live television by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The parties have three weeks to appeal results
An election can be invalidated only if it’s proven the national electoral body largely didn’t follow the law and acted in ways that could have changed the outcome.
The parties now have three weeks to appeal the results.
The Supreme Court of Nigeria has never overturned a presidential election, though court challenges are common, including by Buhari, who doggedly fought his past election losses for months in vain.
The West African regional bloc, known as ECOWAS, called on political parties to appeal to their supporters to exercise maximum restraint and refrain from using provocative language, which would “exacerbate political tensions, divisiveness, and violence at this critical stage”, the group said in a statement.
Opposition parties of Atiku and Obi reject the results
Nigeria’s election was meant to be its fairest and most open contest to date. But the electoral process encountered problems owing to new technology that did not function well and seemed to overwhelm Nigeria’s notoriously inadequate communications network.
Because of these failings, the main opposition parties of Atiku and Obi have rejected the results as fraudulent.
“First, we are rejecting the result because we feel it wasn’t fair,” Emma Ik Umeh, a member of the opposition People’s Democratic Party, told Al Jazeera.
“INEC promised Nigerians … that the election [was] going to be streamed on their portal live and that [was] going to come real-time, and it took a lot before the results were seen on their portal,” he said.
“We have a lot of evidence to prove that these elections were rigged. If you go on the INEC portal, you’ll see that the results for Lagos were different. They gave us results from Nasarawa – the whole system was messed up. So, we have a lot of evidence to prove that,” Umeh added.
Mixed reactions to the results
“Reactions are mixed depending on whom you talked to,” Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris says, reporting from Nigerian capital Abuja.
“The opposition is still angry; they feel they were cheated out of the race,” Idris said.
“The supporters of the government party are excited. However, the celebration is muted. People argue about the election result and what the future holds. We spoke to one opposition party, who told us they are going to meet this morning and put out a former reaction about the commission.”
“The opposition party said they will challenge this result in court,” Idris added.
Tinubu calls on citizens to unite around him
Nigeria’s new president-elect Tinubu is defending the integrity of the vote after the main opposition parties said it was fraudulent.
“I take this opportunity to appeal to my fellow contestants to let us team up together,” Tinubu said. “It is the only nation we have. It is one country, and we must build together.”
Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission says Tinubu got 8.8 million votes. Opposition parties had earlier called for Saturday’s poll to be cancelled.
Will anything change after the elections?
Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris talks to us about people’s frustrations over the worsening economy, insecurity and rising cost of living.
How were the votes tallied?
Results from the 176,846 polling stations were counted manually and were then relayed electronically to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters in Abuja, for posting on its website.
The results were also tallied at the ward, local government and state level.
A returning officer from each state was to travel to Abuja with a tally sheet, to be compared against results sent directly by polling stations to the national collation centre.
Buhari calls on opposition parties not to undermine electoral body
President Muhammadu Buhari says opposition parties should not undermine the electoral commission, adding that the results announced by the poll body show democracy is “ripening” in the West African country.
“The results reveal democracy’s ripening in our country. Votes and those that cast them cannot be taken for granted. Each must be earned. Competition is good for our democracy. There is no doubt the people’s decision has been rendered in the results we look at today,” Buhari said in a tweet.
“If any candidate believes they can prove the fraud they claim is committed against them, then bring forward the evidence. To take to the streets means they are not doing it in the interest of the people, but rather to inflame, to put people in harm’s way and all for personal, selfish gains,” Buhari said.
“Do not undermine the credibility of INEC [The Independent National Electoral Commission]. Let us now move forward as one. The people have spoken,” he added.
Do not undermine the credibility of INEC. Let us now move forward as one.
The people have spoken.
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
— Muhammadu Buhari (@MBuhari) March 1, 2023
‘Anger’ from opposition parties as they claim vote ‘stolen’
Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris, reporting from the Nigerian capital, Abuja, says people are just waking up to the announcement that Bola Tinubu has been declared the winner of Saturday’s poll.
“It’s been a very tense moment for everybody and considering the delay we’ve seen over the past few days and reactions to protests from opposition parties, we expected this to happen. With the result coming so early, definitely, a lot of people are just waking up to the news that the ruling party candidate has just won,” Idris said.
“This is a deeply divided country. So many factors have played at the elections. You have religion, politics, regionalism and ethnicity. So many problems have gone into this election,” he added.
“The next few days will determine if we will see protests on the streets. There is a lot of anger from the opposition parties that this election was stolen from them. The ruling party insisted that there was no play in the election commission,” Idris said.
Who were the main candidates in Saturday’s election?
Eighteen candidates were on the ballot in Saturday’s vote.
But four received the most attention because of their chances to win or force a runoff.
President-elect Bola Tinubu defends poll win
Nigeria’s new president-elect Bola Tinubu has defended the integrity of the national election that he won, and called on citizens to unite around him after a bitter dispute over results that opposition parties have said are flawed.
“I commend INEC [The Independent National Electoral Commission] for running a credible election no matter what anybody says,” Tinubu said. “The lapses that were reported, they were relatively few in number and were immaterial to affect the final outcome of the election.”
INEC promised to upload results from each polling unit to its website in real time but most units were unable to do so immediately, undermining trust in the process. Because of these failings, the main opposition parties of Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi have rejected the results as fraudulent.
Ruling APC supporters celebrate Tinubu’s election victory
The ruling All Progressives Congress party supporters are celebrating Bola Tinubu’s election win after the former Lagos governor was declared president-elect by the electoral commission.
“None of the others matches his record!” said Babafemi Akin, as he talked excitedly about the prospects of a Tinubu administration. “I am sure he will do well.”
Adenike Mutiat Abubakar, 43, said he has high hopes for Tinubu to deliver for all Nigerians.
“He has done it before, and we know that he will do better than what he did in Lagos,” Abubakar said. “He’s the man of the people, so that’s why everybody wants him.”
President Buhari congratulates Tinubu on election win
President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated Bola Tinubu for winning Saturday’s highly contested poll.
“Elected by the people, he is the best person for the job. I shall now work with him and his team to ensure an orderly handover of power,” Buhari said in a statement.
I congratulate His Excellency @officialABAT on his victory. Elected by the people, he is the best person for the job. I shall now work with him and his team to ensure an orderly handover of power. pic.twitter.com/YwryZ1uFXJ
— Muhammadu Buhari (@MBuhari) March 1, 2023
Buhari and Tinubu are from the same party – the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
President Buhari is stepping down after serving two four-year terms in office.
Nigeria Election: Will Anything Change?
Nigeria’s electoral commission has declared Bola Tinubu the winner of Saturday’s closely contested election.
Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris talks to us about people’s frustrations over the worsening economy, insecurity and the rising cost of living.
Who is Bola Tinubu?
Bola Tinubu, a political “godfather” famed for his strategic deftness and clout, never hid his ambition to be president of Nigeria.
The 70-year-old has now fulfilled his “lifelong” goal by winning the presidency of Africa’s most populous nation with 8.8 million votes, according to final election results.
A Muslim born in Nigeria’s Yoruba-speaking southwest, Tinubu trained as an accountant in the United States and worked for several US companies, including as a treasurer at oil giant ExxonMobil.
He is believed to be one of Nigeria’s richest politicians and after leaving office he was accused of corruption, money laundering and operating more than a dozen foreign bank accounts. He was never charged and denies wrongdoing.
The source of his wealth is unknown but he has interests in a number of business ventures, from media and aviation to tax consultancy, hotels and real estate holdings.
Tinubu wins presidency in disputed poll
Nigeria’s electoral commission says ruling party candidate Bola Tinubu has won Saturday’s election, the results of which have been disputed and contested by other candidates.
Tinubu’s win secured the former Lagos governor his lifelong ambition of the presidency of Africa’s most populous democracy.
Tinubu, the candidate for the All Progressives Congress (APC) party, won 8.8 million votes against 6.9 million for opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Atiku Abubakar and 6.1 million for the Labour Party’s Peter Obi, the Independent National Electoral Commission said.
“I am very happy I have been elected the president of the federal republic of Nigeria,” Tinubu said to cheers in Abuja. “This is a serious mandate. I hereby accept it.”