Nigeria’s electoral commission on Wednesday declared ruling party candidate Bola Tinubu president-elect after a disputed weekend election, at a ceremony that was snubbed by the two main opposition parties.
Tinubu’s victory extends the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party’s grip on power in Africa’s top oil producer and most populous nation, though he inherits a litany of problems from President Muhammadu Buhari, also of APC.
The former governor of commercial hub Lagos polled 8.79 million votes, ahead of main opposition challenger Atiku Abubakar’s 6.98 million votes. Peter Obi, an outsider popular with younger voters, garnered 6.1 million votes.
Nigerian electoral law says a candidate can win just by getting more votes than their rivals, provided they get 25% of the vote in at least two-thirds of the 36 states and the federal capital Abuja, which Tinubu also managed to do.
