Abuja, Nigeria
The Sunday Review
—
Nigeria’s third-placed presidential candidate, Peter Obi, strongly rejected the results and vowed to contest them in the courts, in his first public address since Saturday’s election.
Obi he rejected the victory of Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress party, who was declared the winner with close to 8.8 million votes – about 36.6% of the total.
The 61-year-old candidate, who galvanized the youth vote, received about 6 million votes, according the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), just behind former vice president Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party.
Obi he should have been declared the winner.”We will We will explore every legal and peaceful option to help us reclaim our mandate. We won The election and we will prove it to Nigerians,” Obi Abuja, Thursday’s televised media briefing stated that it was false and that the entire process was fraudulent.
“This election did not meet the minimum standard expected of a free, transparent, credible and fair election,” he said. “It will go down as one of the most controversial elections ever conducted in Nigeria. The good and hardworking people of Nigeria have been robbed by our supposed leaders whom they trusted.”
O
Bi said he He was optimistic of receiving a positive outcome for his legal challenge. “I know the courts will do the right thing. The future of their children is involved,” he said.
His trademark black shirt, and pants, with the Labour Party logo, are worn here Obi As a result, he was in good spirits he At the Abuja hotel’s media briefing, they answered questions.
As he The venue was closed. Obi A crowd of supporters gathered around him, many shouting his name. “My President.”
Obi It isn’t new for election legal battles. he Three months later, he was reinstated in his post as Governor of the state of Southeast Anambra. he He was impeached in the state legislature.
Two other times, he was reinstated to the office by the courts after INEC declared that his opponents were the winners of the governor’s race. elections he contested.
Saturday’s election was dogged with controversy, with several observers including the European Union saying the election fell short of expectations and “lacked transparency.”
A low turnout was another result. According to INEC more than 93,000,000 people registered to vote. However, only 87 million of them obtained a card to enable them to vote. But the electoral commission said on Wednesday that only 24 million valid votes were counted, representing a turnout of just 26% — a figure much lower than the last elections In 2019, around one third of all registered voters voted.
There were also pockets of violence that slowed the elections, and many Lagos voters complained about intimidation and attempts at suppressing their votes.
