Nigerian ruling party candidate Bola Tinubu has been declared the winner of the highly disputed weekend election as declared by the electoral authorities.
With President Muhammad Bihari stepping down after serving two terms , many Nigerians hoped Saturday’s vote would bring in a new leader capable of tackling the country’s widening insecurity, economic malaise and growing poverty.
However Tinubu’s victory extends the ruling All Progressive Congress ( APC) party grip on power in Africa’s top oil producer and most populous nation though he inherits a litany of problems from president Muhammadu Buhari.
The Independent National Electoral Commission confirmed Tinubu after securing 25 percent the required percentage of votes in two thirds of Nigeria’s 36 states and capital.
Tinubu(70) a long time political king maker who ran on his experience as Lagos governor from 1999 to 2007 campaigned saying “its my turn to govern Africa’s largest economy.
In response from Nigerian supporters cheered and danced to Afrobeats music at the APC campaign headquarters in the capital Abuja as the final result were being tallied in the early hours of Wednesday.
The former governor of commercial hub Lagos polled 8.79 million votes , a head of main opposition challenger Atiku Abubakar’s 6.98 million votes ,Peter Obi an outsider popular with the younger voters garnered 6.1