Nigeria’s presidential election; The candidate of the ruling party. Bola Tinubu, has been declare the winner of the contested presidential election in Nigeria.
The 70-year-old veteran politician won 37% of the vote, according to official results.
His main rival, Atiku Abubakar, got 29 percent, while Labor’s Peter Obi got 25 percent. Their parties had earlier dismissed the poll as a sham and demanded a repeat.
Tinubu is one of Nigeria’s richest politicians. Based his campaign on the achievements of the reconstruction of his biggest city, Lagos, when he was governor.
However, he was defeat in the city by Mr. Obi, a relative newcomer. Who mobilized the support of many young people, especially in the cities, and shook the country’s two-party system.
Tinubu won most of the other states in his home region of the South West. Where he is know as the “political godfather” who helps bring others into office.
He fought for the presidency with the slogan: “My turn.”
Bola Tinubu is the ‘Godfather’ leading Nigeria
Africa Live: Bola Tinubu calls for unity
In his acceptance speech, Mr. Tinubu called for reconciliation with his opponents.
“I take this opportunity to appeal to my fellow candidates to allow us to work together. This is our one nation. This is one country and we must build it together,” he said in a televised address to the nation.
He said they had the right to challenge the results in court. But said the electoral defeats were “relatively few and will not affect the outcome of this election”.
President Muhammadu Buhari is stepping down after two terms in office marked. By economic stagnation and growing insecurity across the country. From an Islamist insurgency in the northeast to a national kidnap-for-ransom crisis and separatist attacks in the southeast.
Nigeria’s presidential election; Tinubu is now task with solving these problems. Among others, in Africa’s most populous nation and largest oil exporter.
After fighting against the military rule in Nigeria, fleeing into exile. Becoming one of the founding fathers of the country’s democracy in 1999, Tinubu feels destined to become president.
He has always been the favorite to succeed Mr. Buhari, whom he helped to become president. The obstacles he overcame to get here will make this victory sweeter for him.
He was not expect to win the party’s primary, but he did.
Many said his decision to date another Muslim was a hindrance, but that was not the case.
In the past, all major parties have split their presidential tickets with a Christian south and a Muslim north in order to gain broad support in this vast country of 210 million people.
Now he must prove that he can hit the ground running and that he is still the same formidable force that built modern Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial hub.
Mr. Tinubu, nicknamed “Jagaban” by his supporters, will now try to unite a country torn along regional lines and religious blocs, as the election results show.
Although it met the 25% requirement in two-thirds of Nigeria’s 36 states to demonstrate national acceptance, the nature of its victory suggests that it is not a truly national party.
Mr. Obi won in Christian-dominated states and former stronghold of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party in the south, while support for the PDP returned to his northern affection.
