NIGERIA: Some early results were announced by Nigeria from the national elections that were held on Sunday, despite a victory in the competition to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari not be expected for several days.
Mahmood Yakubu, the chairman of Nigeria’s election commission (INEC), adjourned the session after the final results and said that the release of tallies would resume at 11 a.m. local time on Monday. The PDP’s Abubakar has requested INEC give out the results soon after he accused some state governors of endeavouring to compromise the results.
In a statement, he said, “It will be a disservice to Nigerians and a negation of democracy for anyone to subvert the will of the people as freely expressed in their votes of yesterday.”
The chairman of the Labor Party, Julius Abure, also accused the officials of failing to upload results from parts of Lagos and southern Delta State.
In a statement, INEC said, “The commission wants to reassure Nigerians that the problems are not caused by any intrusion or sabotage of our systems.” It also said, “It is important to avoid words and actions that can heat the political situation at this time.”
Approximately 90 million people were eligible to vote on Saturday. Most Nigerians hoped that the next president would be equipped to handle crises such as insecurity, economic malaise, and augmenting poverty. The count of the votes is transmitted to Abuja, the capital, where the electoral commission’s central tallying centre is located.
Even though there was chaos and late starts at the polling stations, some of which were ransacked, the vote in Africa’s most populated nation went peacefully.
The final results from Ekiki state show that Bola Tinubu of the All Progressive Congress (APC) received more than 200,000 votes, compared to half that total for the main opposition, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
This race’s competitiveness is being analysed, highlighting an unprecedented runoff between the two major candidates if no candidate can meet the election eligibility requirement.
Also Read: Nigeria Election 2023: Millions Go to the Polls in the Tightest-ever Race
