1″ March “2023
Bola Tinubu, a political “godfather” famed for his strategic deftness and clout, has won a tight race to succeed Muhammadu Buhari as the next president of Nigeria.
Tinubu never hid his ambition to be president of Nigeria as the 70-year-old fulfilled his “lifelong” goal by winning the presidency of Africa’s most populous nation with 8.8 million votes, according to final election results
Despite lingering questions about his health and past corruption allegations, the two-time Lagos governor will succeed Buhari, a former army general he brags of helping put into power.
His ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) faces accusations of electoral fraud in polls, that took place over Saturday and Sunday, from its two main opponents. But electoral officials and the APC dismissed those claims.
Often referred to by the chieftain’s title of “Jagaban”, Tinubu has spent years building his Lagos power base into a nationwide network of contacts from Lagos market cooperatives and transport unions to political operatives
Long stint in power
A Muslim born in Nigeria’s Yoruba-speaking southwest, Tinubu trained as an accountant in the United States and worked for several US companies, including as a treasurer at oil giant ExxonMobil.
He was a political activist before becoming a senator and later governo
r of Lagos State, which he governed from 1999 to 2007
Corruption allegations
Controversies around Tinubu have also arisen around his financial dealings during his time in power.
He is believed to be one of Nigeria’s richest politicians and after leaving office he was accused of corruption, money laundering and operating more than a dozen foreign bank accounts. He was never charged and denies wrongdoing.
On the campaign trail, PDP critics labelled him as “wobbly, wonky and narcotic-devastated”, a reference to health concerns and a 1993 US court filing that cited a “drug-related seizure of property” from his US bank account.
The source of his wealth is unknown but he has interests in a number of business ventures, from media and aviation to tax consultancy, hotels and real estate holdings.
One critic described him as “a greedy politician” who has gobbled up major sources of revenue from Lagos.
The governing party candidate, Bola Tinubu, was declared the winner of Nigeria’s presidential election early on Wednesday.
Soon after, he thanked his supporters and appealed to his rivals, who have been demanding revoting in Africa’s most populous nation, to accept the result.
The announcement by election officials overnight was likely to lead to a court challenge by the second- and third-highest finishers in the weekend vote, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi.
Abubakar finished second in the 2019 polls, and he appealed the results before his lawsuit was ultimately dismissed.
Tinubu’s All Progressives Congress party urged the opposition to accept defeat and not cause trouble after they demanded revoting saying that delays in uploading election results had made room for irregularities.
Tinubu received nearly 8.8 million votes, or 37 percent, while the main opposition candidate, Abubakar, won 29 percent. Third-place finisher Obi took 25 percent with about 6.1 million votes, according to the results announced on live television by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
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