Bola Ahmed Tinubu, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has been declared President-elect of Nigeria, following one of the most tightly contested elections in the country’s democratic history.

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, announced Tinubu’s victory after four days of vote collation at the National Collation Centre in Abuja. Tinubu secured 8,794,726 votes, outpacing his closest rivals Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), who garnered 6,984,520 votes, and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), who obtained 6,101,533 votes.

Despite losing his stronghold of Lagos State, Tinubu clinched key victories in states like Rivers, Kwara, Ekiti, Borno, Jigawa, and Oyo. His two main challengers, Atiku and Obi, dominated their respective regions, but ultimately fell short in the nationwide vote tally.

Controversy and Legal Threats

The election results have not gone uncontested. Both the PDP and LP have rejected the outcome, accusing INEC of failing to uphold transparency and alleging electoral fraud by the ruling APC. They called for the cancellation of the election and demanded the resignation of Prof. Yakubu.

Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), who won Kano State with 1.5 million votes, also joined in questioning the credibility of the process.

Despite the backlash, Tinubu is set to be sworn in as Nigeria’s President