The race is tight between three of the main candidates in the Nigerian presidential election. The INEC Chairman promised that Tuesday would conclude with the announcement of the name of the 5th President of the 5th Republic of Nigeria.
with our correspondent in Abuja, Moses Gomis
At the last tally Monday evening at 10 p.m., Bola Tinubu (APC) and Atiku Abubakar (PDP) were neck and neck with six states and five states won respectively. But Peter Obi (Labour Party) remains in ambush with three states won, and in particular that of Lagosthe economic capital of Nigeria and especially the stronghold of Bola Tinubu, former governor of the megalopolis.
Despite a long break between 6:15 p.m. and 9 p.m., the tension had still not subsided last night at the International Conference Center in Abuja. The results of the State of Jigawa hardly finished being seeded that the national representative of the party African Action Congress, interrupts Professor Yakubu.
In an exasperated voice, this member of this small formation reproaches the president of the INEC for his continuation of the program of announcements of the results. The posting of the results in real time is still not effective. Impassive and in a neutral tone, surrounded by his management committee, Mahmood Yakubu indicates that he will not make any comment.
On the other hand, he ensures that all comments and complaints addressed to the Independent Electoral Commission will be dealt with in a timely manner.
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And Professor Yakubu promises that the IT teams in charge of managing the IreV portal go into overdrive. And that before the reopening this morning of the national collection center, the results of the Nigerian presidential election should be accessible to all public.
Then the six INEC delegates reveal the latest results of the day. Atiku Abubakar emerges victorious from Adamawa and Katsina, the stronghold of Muhammadu Buhari. Peter Obi is number 1 in Nassarawa State.
Presidential Election Results from Enugu, Lagos and Gombe States have been submitted by the Collation Officers of the respective States to the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu at the National Snack Centre, Abuja.#NigeriaDecides2023 pic.twitter.com/e7svegnCjG
— INEC Nigeria (@inecnigeria) February 27, 2023
While Nigerians are still waiting to hear about their new president, social media has been filled with postings related to the poll since Saturday. Nigerians filmed ballot counting operations to protect their votes or announced the results from their polling stations for comparison with official results. But there are also photos and videos to denounce irregularities, cases of fraud or violence.
The difficulty is always to find one’s way and to sort it out, as Hamzat Lawal reminds us. This Nigerian activist heads Connected Development, a civil society organization that has deployed 20,000 observers across Nigeria’s 36 states. He speaks, at the microphone of our special correspondent in Abuja, Amelie Tulet :
” People should not go too fast in their consumption of what they find on social networks. They must ensure that whatever information reaches them, the source is identified. You have to ask yourself if the information is verifiable. Maybe be patient and wait until the fact-checking organizations have done their job of checking to see if it’s factual or false information. Don’t share too quickly! »
” The Electoral Commission has not published enough results yet. Because there’s this void, a lot of people are sharing results that aren’t verified. This creates tension and apprehension. Our fear is that when the results come out in earnest, supporters of the losing candidates will compare the social media results to the official results. It might create a commotion; perhaps even violence and demonstrations. »