LAGOS – Nigeria’s president-elect, Bola Tinubu, has appealed to opposition groups and people who were dismayed by his triumph in the election over the weekend.
The controversial Tinubu added that “renewed hope has dawned” in the continent’s most populous country after his contentious poll win in the race to replace outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari.
Following his victory over two of his closest opponents in the most competitive election in decades, Tinubu, the candidate for the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) party, was proclaimed the winner on Wednesday.
The jumbled count, which ran nearly four days, drew harsh criticism and accusations of rigging from the opposition parties, who vowed to take legal action to reverse the outcome.
In a number of addresses, the 70-year-old Tinubu made an effort to divert attention from the election’s flaws and prevent post-election violence.
“I take this opportunity to appeal to my fellow contestants to let us team up together. It is the only nation we have. It is one country and we must build together,” he said in a televised address.
“I understand your hurt. To you, I extend the embrace and comfort of a family member. This great project called Nigeria beckons to us all. It is bigger and more important than any partisan divide,” he added.
Tinubu, won the election with just 37% of votes cast. People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leader Atiku Abubakar, his main opponent, received 29% of the vote, while Peter Obi, a Labour Party candidate, received 25%.
Even though it may seem as though Tinubu’s victory solidifies the APC’s hold on power, the results show that poll dark-horse Obi overcame a funding shortfall and shaky organisation to make significant gains.
Obi received 6.1 million votes and shocked many by triumphing in both Abuja, the federal capital, and Lagos, the country’s largest city and economic hub.
