Nigeria’s Bola Tinubu declared winner of presidential vote

By CHINEDU ASADU
Associated Press

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerian President-elect Bola Tinubu has thanked his supporters and appealed to his rivals in remarks after he was declared the winner of last weekend’s presidential election. The announcement on Wednesday by election officials was likely to lead to a court challenge by the No. 2 and No. 3 finishers. The opposition has demanded a rerun of the vote, alleging delays in the results made room for irregularities. Tinubu received only 37% of the vote in last weekend’s election and would be Nigeria’s first president to take office with less than 50%, analysts say. The main opposition candidate, Atiku Abubakar, received won 29% of the vote, while third-place finisher Obi got 25%, according to official results.