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Nigeria president-elect and matters arising
Election commission declared Bola Tinubu winner of presidential election as main opposition parties cry foul .
Samuel Okocha
March 02, 2023
Election campaign posters of Bola Tinubu’s All Progressive Congress Party in Lagos. 📷 Samuel Okocha
I’m Samuel Okocha, and this is 234Digest: an independent, nonpartisan, reader-focused newsletter that digs into the best news coverage about Nigeria. In this maiden Thursday edition, we’re looking at Nigeria’s President-elect, the opposition claims of electoral fraud and much more.
One Top Story
Nigeria’s president-elect emerges amid cries of foul play
On Wednesday, Nigeria’s election commission declared Bola Tinubu as the winner of Nigeria's most competitive election in decades.
The 70-year-old veteran politician got 37 percent of the vote, according to official results. His main rival Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party polled 29 percent while Labor Party’s Peter Obi garnered 25 percent. The win keeps the ruling All Progressives Party in power in Africa’s most populous country. The party won the presidency in 2015.
Nigeria has largely been a two-party state. But a third candidate in Peter Obi came to the scene and made the 2023 presidential vote the most unpredictable election since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999.
It also appears to be the most disputed as the opposition has vowed to contest the results, citing wide spread technical glitches, delays in voting and tampering of results.
Long stories short
With each of the top three candidates becoming the leading vote-getter in 12 states, the US described the election as a remarkable first in Nigeria’s modern political era. See full press statement here.
Nigeria’s president-elect, Bola Tinubu plans to meet aggrieved presidential candidates. The aim? Appeal to them so that ‘we can work together' says Rotimi Akeredolu, the governor of Ondo State.
Nigeria's president-elect Bola Tinubu has promised to tackle a litany of problems. But insecurity and the economy will remain major issues. This explainer details what Tinubu’s win could mean for Nigeria.
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