UK govt congratulates Tinubu, asks FG to fix electoral lapses

Tinubu scooped the highest number of votes cast and met the constitutional requirement of winning 25% of votes cast in two-third out of the 36 states of the federation to emerge winner of the Saturday, February 25, 2023, presidential election.

Announcing the results in the early hours of Wednesday, March 1, 2023, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said the former Lagos State governor polled 8,794,726 votes.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s Atiku Abubakar recorded 6,984,520 votes to finish second, while Peter Obi of the Labour Party garnered 6,101,533 votes to finish third.

Yakubu has also presented Certificate of Return to Tinubu and Vice President-elect, Kashim Shettima, on Wednesday afternoon.

Reacting to the development via a statement issued by Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, the UK praised the Nigerian electorate for coming out exercise their democratic rights.

Cleverly also urged aggrieved opposition parties to explore legal means to correct any anomalies recorded during the exercise.

The statement read: “The United Kingdom commends Nigerian voters for their participation in the presidential and National Assembly elections and for their patience and resilience in exercising their democratic rights. We congratulate the President-elect, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“We note the position of opposition parties on the election outcome and the concerns expressed by observer missions and civil society about the organisation of the process, including delays and technical challenges.

“We encourage the authorities to examine all concerns carefully, take action to resolve outstanding issues and focus on delivering the will of the Nigerian people.”