Former president of kenya and the election observer for the African union Uhuru Kenyatta have asked Nigerians to be calm and maintain peace while waiting for the presidential results.
Citizens in africas largest economy went to the polls on Saturday to elect their next president in one of the most content presidential elections since the country transitioned from military rule. Three major contestants include bola tinubu, supported by the ruling party APC, Atiku Abubakar from the primary opposition PDP and a newcomer, peter obi from the labour party.
At a joint press conference on Monday, Uhuru, surrounded by the head of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) mission, H.E (Rtd) Bai Koroma, issued a preliminary statement on the recently concluded elections.
According to the two former heads of state, the preliminary statements reflect the missions' results and recommendations to key parties in the electoral process.
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The envoy will issue a detailed report with suggestions for subsequent elections following the election.
Despite some ransacked polling stations and lengthy delays, voting was mostly peaceful. Many voters stayed late at night to watch the count and "protect" the ballots.
On Saturday, nearly 90 million Nigerians were eligible to vote for a successor to President Muhammadu Buhari. Many hoped that a new leader would better address insecurity, economic malaise, and growing poverty.
Figures provided by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) show that Bola Tinubu is leading with 3.8 million votes from 14 stations out of the 36 stations.Abubakar had 3 million and Obi 1.6 million. Peter Obi won three in three states, Tinubu won six states and Abubakar five states.
To be declared the winner, a candidate must receive the most votes and 25% of the votes cast in two-thirds of Nigeria's states. This metric reflects a country divided into a predominantly Muslim north, a largely Christian south, and three major ethnic groups.