Bola Tinubu, the politician long heralded as the “father of modern Lagos”, has won a tight race to succeed Muhammadu Buhari as the next president of Nigeria.
The announcement was made known earlier today by the the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Tinubu, a former Lagos State governor, was declared the president-elect after the 70-year-old polled 8,794,726 votes to win the 2023 presidential election.
The INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, announced Tinubu as the winner at the International Collation Centre in Abuja during the early hours of Wednesday.
Tinubu won the election ahead of other contenders — the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Atiku Abubakar; the Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi; and the New Nigeria Peoples Party candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso.
The three leading presidential candidates won in 12 states each while Kwankwaso claimed only Kano State.
Tinubu edged Atiku, a former vice president and his closest challenger, with no fewer than 1.8 million votes.
It was reported that the 2023 presidential election is the first time that Tinubu contested for the nation’s top job. The former senator left office as a two-term governor of Lagos State in 2007 and is credited with leading the coalition that ousted the PDP from power in 2015 and has extended his influence beyond the South-West region in recent years.
“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.”
