Nigeria's Obi says he won presidential election
Nigerian presidential candidate Peter Obi said on Thursday he had won Saturday's election. He made his first public remarks since he cast his ballot on Saturday at a hotel in the capital of Buja. Let me reiterate and I assure you that good people of Nigeria that will explore all legal and peaceful action to reclaim our mandate. We want the election and we will prove it to Nigerians. Bola Tanubu of the ruling party was declared the winner of the election on Wednesday. He has already received congratulations from several foreign countries, including British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the U.S.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price. The United States congratulates the people of Nigeria. Election observers from the European Union and the Commonwealth reported a range of problems with the vote, including widespread technical failures of systems designed to prevent manipulation and improve transparency. They criticized the Independent National Electoral Commission or INEC for poor planning but did not allege fraud. The INEC issued a statement on Thursday, dismissing media reports that the problems with one of its new tools, a secure portal for transmitting and viewing results, were part of a vote rigging plan. According to official results, Tanubu won 37 percent of the vote, compared with 29 percent for the main opposition candidate, Attiku Abu Bakar. Obi, an outsider popular with young and educated urban votes, got 25 percent of the vote.
He questioned figures showing a low turnout at a time when there was a record number of registered voters. The INEC said total votes cast were just under 25 million. Out of 87 million people with voter identity cards and eligible to vote, that gives a turnout rate of 29 percent. Although Nigeria has a long history of political violence, the atmosphere has mostly been calm in the aftermath of the disputed vote. Let me humbly and most respectfully appeal to all Nigerians to remain peaceful, law-abiding and conduct themselves in the most responsible manner. Obi's running mate had already indicated that Obi planned to challenge the election result in court.
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