The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as the president-elect.
Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who is the Chief Returning Officer of the presidential and national assembly election held on Saturday, made the declaration at the National Collation Centre, International Collation Centre, Abuja on Wednesday morning.
Tinubu defeated 17 other candidates to emerge victorious, amid allegations of widespread irregularities by the main opposition parties.
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As declared by the electoral body, the APC candidate secured 8,794,726 votes, which is the highest of all the candidates, and got 25 percent of valid votes cast in 30 states of the federation, surpassing the constitutional requirement of 25 percent in 24 states of the federation.
He is followed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the Labour Party (LP) candidate, Peter Obi, and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) candidate, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso in that order.
Atiku got total of 6,984,520, Obi got 6,101,533, and Kwankwaso got 1,496,687 votes.
The three leading presidential candidates won in 12 states each while Kwankwaso claimed only his native Kano State.
Other candidates that vied for the nation’s top job are Dumebi Kachikwu of the African Democratic Congress; Kola Abiola of the Peoples Redemption Party; Omoyele Sowore of Africa Action Congress; Adewole Adebayo of Social Democratic Party; Malik Ado-Ibrahim of Young Progressive Party; Prof Christopher Imumulen of Accord Party; Prof Peter Umeadi of All Progressives Grand Alliance; and Yusuf Mamman Dan Talle of Allied Peoples Movement.
The list also includes Hamza Al-Mustapha of Action Alliance; Sani Yusuf of Action Democratic Party; Nnnadi Osita of Action Peoples Party; Oluwafemi Adenuga of Boot Party; Osakwe Felix Johnson of National Rescue Movement; and Nwanyanwu Daniel Daberechukwu of Zenith Labour Party.
It was the first time that Tinubu, a former Governor of Lagos State, would be contesting for the presidency.