Bola Tinubu Leads Nigeria’s Polls

Electoral officials tracking the progress of Nigeria’s recent elections report that preliminary results from 11 of 36 states showed that ruling party candidate Bola Tinubu was leading in the presidential race.

News agency Associated Press released updated results of Nigeria’s February 25 elections where they reported that the former governor of Lagos State and ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate was leading the presidential race by 46% of the 6.7 million votes counted so far.

A.P added that Tinubu was followed by People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Atiku Abubakar who has secured 29 % and Labor Party (L.P) candidate Peter Obi was trailing in third place with 20%.

Despite being positioned in third place, the West African nation’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Monday released results that showed that the Labor Party’s candidate won the key state of Lagos, a bastion of Tinubu’s support which also has the largest number of registered voters.

Analysts report that Saturday’s election was followed by a slow pace of uploading state-by-state results which fueled allegations by opposition parties of INEC manipulating the results in favor of the ruling party.

Dino Melaye, a PDP official reported walking out of a counting center in the capital Abuja alongside other party agents.

“We are not here to rubber stamp the electoral fraud that has been prepared by INEC and APC,” said Melaye, adding, “we are saying that INEC is compromised.”

The European Union’s observer mission said INEC “lacked efficient planning and transparency during critical stages” and reduced public trust with delays in voting and results.

The ruling party’s candidate expressed comfort in the current tally that favors his prospects of being the next president, despite his reported loss in Lagos.

“You win some, you lose some,” said Tinubu.

Femi Fani-Kayode, a member of Tinubu’s presidential campaign council called on opposition parties to refrain from violence as INEC releases more results.

“If they don’t, a situation may well arise that none of us want, whereby people actually act on this incitement and begin to kill other people,” said Kayode.

“And if that happens, I assure you it will be very difficult to restrain those on our own side not to retaliate,” he added.

Source: VOA