Monitoring Desk
ABUJA: Outsider candidate Peter Obi has won the critical battleground of Lagos state in the fight for Nigeria’s presidency, according to provisional results published Monday.
With over seven million registered voters, Lagos is a must-win state for candidates. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which oversaw Saturday’s ballot, is expected to announce the official state results within hours.
Technical issues with a new electronic voting system meant just a fraction of votes cast on Saturday in the crucial polls have been collated, leaving the race to win a four-year tenure as leader of Africa’s most populous country.
Eighteen candidates hope to replace the outgoing president, Muhammadu Buhari, but only three candidates are considered to have a credible chance of securing victory: the Labour party’s Obi, Bola Tinubu, from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC); and Atiku Abubakar, of the main opposition People’s Democratic party.
Traditional politicians representing Nigeria’s established political parties
Atiku, 76, and Tinubu, 70 are seen as traditional politicians representing Nigeria’s established political parties. Obi, 62, is seen as a reformist who has reached across the faultlines of the country to woo voters from all communities and run an effective social media campaign to attract young voters.
Obi’s challenged the dominance of the two political parties in power after the end of the military government in 1999, making the election much more competitive for decades. Over 93 million people registered to vote, though fewer picked up their accreditation.
Provisional results from the Lagos state collation center released on Monday gave Peter Obi, who switched to the small-scale Labour party from the PDP in 2022, a narrow victory against Tinubu, with 582,454 votes to 572,606. However, the All Progressives Congress won control of more local authorities.
Tinubu also easily won at least two other states, though Obi has done well in his power base in the southeast and made inroads elsewhere. Early reports suggested the PDP held on to most of their bastions.
Officials from the APC said on Sunday night that their own information showed that “Obi-diets,” as supporters of the opposition called themselves, were likely to be disappointed.
