The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has officially declared the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the winner of the 2023 presidential election. INEC presented Tinubu with his certificate of return after he polled 8,794,726 votes to defeat his rivals, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who scored 6,984,520 votes and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), who scored 6,101,533 votes, while Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) polled 1,496,687 votes. However, the PDP and LP are contesting the election results.
Tinubu’s victory is attributed to several factors, including the support of his stronghold in the South-West region of the country, where he swept Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, and Ekiti states. He also received enough support from the North-East and North-West regions to maintain his lead. The APC northern governors played a crucial role in his victory, as they insisted that it was the turn of the South to produce the President, and Tinubu was the best candidate from the South. This support helped him win the APC primaries and subsequently the presidential election.
Tinubu also met the constitutional requirements to be declared the winner of the presidential election by winning the majority votes and obtaining 25 percent of the votes in 25 states (two-thirds of Nigeria’s 36 states and Abuja), as well as gaining more than 25 percent of the votes in 12 states, including Niger, Benue, Kogi, Zamfara, Jigawa, Oyo, Rivers, Ogun, Ondo, Kwara, Ekiti, and Borno.
The regional factor played a key role in the voting pattern in the Northern region, as people in each state of the North-East voted based on personality for their candidate of choice. Tinubu’s victory in Jigawa and Borno states controlled by APC governors gave him an enabling edge over his counterparts in winning the election. Although there were measurable votes in the Northern region that went primarily to the Labour Party and other parties, Tinubu put up a good fight against his opponents in the North.
The fallout among the G5 governors and the leadership of the PDP, including the party’s flag bearer, Atiku Abubakar, favored Tinubu in no small measure, along with the factor of Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers. Despite the protests from the PDP and LP, Tinubu’s victory has been widely celebrated, and his supporters believe he will take Nigeria to the next level of development.
