01 March 2023

Bola Tinubu is Nigeria’s Next President

On 01 March, The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, as the winner of the 2023 general elections.  

Tinubu scored a total of 8,794,726 votes, meeting the first constitutional requirement to be declared the winner and scored over 25 per cent of the votes cast in 30 states, above  the 24 states constitutionally required. Atiku came in second with a total of 6,984,520 votes, Peter Obi of the Labour Party came third with 6,101,533 votes while Rabiu Kwankwaso of the NNPP came fourth with 1,496,687 votes.

27 February 2023

12:00 am – Collation of Votes to Go Into Its Third Day as INEC Adjourns to Tuesday 

The Independent National Electoral Commission has closed the collation of results for the 2023 presidential election at the International Conference Centre in Abuja for the day.

National Chairman Mahmood Yakubu has adjourned the exercise to allow state collation officers for the presidential election (SCOPs) in the remaining states present their results.

Already, results have been released for about 16 states. Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress has won in Kwara, Oyo, Ondo, Jigawa, and Ogun.  Peter Obi of the Labour Party has won in Nasarawa, Abia, Enugu, and Lagos. Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party has won in Osun, Yobe, Gombe, Adamawa, Bauchi, Akwa Ibom, Katsina

10:00 pm – Kwankwaso Wins Kano

Former governor of Kano State and presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) Rabiu Kwankwaso has won his home state at the 2023 elections. 

Kwankwaso won with a total of 997, 279 votes, APC’s Bola Tinubu trailed in second place with 517, 341 votes, PDP’s Atiku Abubakar came in third with 131, 716 votes and LP’s Peter Obi gained 28, 513 votes. 

The results were announced by the state collation officer, Professor Lawan Suleiman Bilbis after the results from the 44 local government areas were collated at the Independent National Electoral Commission Headquarters in Kano.

The total number of registered voters was 5, 792, 848, accredited voters were 1, 769, 525 and the total valid votes were 1, 702, 005.

09:00 pm – Atiku Wins Bauchi

The presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, has won Bauchi with 109,913 votes.

The state Collation Officer, Prof. Abdulkarim Mohammed, the Vice Chancellor, Federal University, Dutse, Jigawa State, announced the results on Monday.

Atiku won with 426,607 votes and APC’s presidential hopeful Bola Tinubu, had 316,694 votes. The New Nigerian People’s Party candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso got 72,103 while Peter Obi of the Labour Party scored 27,373 votes.

Mohammed noted that registered voters in the state were 2,749,268 while accredited voters were 899,769.

06:50 pm – Peter Obi Wins Abia 

Peter Obi won the presidential election in Abia State. The results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission showed that Obi won with a total of 327,095 votes, beating PDP’s Atiku Abubakar, who polled 22,676 votes.

06:30 pm – Peter Obi Wins Nasarawa 

The Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, scored the highest votes at the presidential polls held in Nasarawa State.

Obi polled a total vote of 191,361, beating APC’s Bola Tinubu, who got 172,922 votes and PDP’s Atiku Abubakar who got 147, 093 votes

06: 00 pm – Atiku Wins Gombe State 

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has recorded a victory at the polls in Gombe, Nigeria’s smallest northern state.

The Gombe State Collation Officer, Professor Maimuna Waziri, Vice Chancellor, Federal University Gashua, announced that Atiku won with a total of 319,123 votes. 

The APC presidential hopeful Bola Tinubu came in second with 146,977 votes. Peter Obi got 26,160 votes, while Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso got 10,520 votes.

03: 30 pm – Atiku Wins Adamawa 

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has recorded a victory in his home state, Adamawa.

The state collation officer, Prof. Mohammed Mele, said 764,834 voters were accredited out of the 2,186,465 total of registered voters.

With a total of 417,611 votes, Atiku defeated APC’s Bola Tinubu, who got 182,881 votes and Peter Obi’s 105,645 votes. Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) gained 8,006 votes.

03: 00 pm – Atiku Wins Akwa Ibom 

PDP’s Atiku Abubakar, has won the elections in Akwa Ibom State, winning 23 out of the 31 local government areas, according to the results declared by INEC at the State Collation Centre in Uyo, the State’s capital.

Atiku, who got 214,012 votes, is followed by the APC’s Bola Tinubu who won six local government areas with 160, 620 votes. LP’s Peter Obi got 132,683 votes, winning in only two local government areas including the state capital, Uyo LGA.

02:40 pm – Atiku Wins In Yobe State 

The presidential candidate of PDP, Atiku Abubakar has won the presidential election in Yobe State.

State Returning Officer, Prof Umar Pate announced that Atiku had gained 198,567 votes, APC’s Tinubu canvassed 151,459 votes, LP’s Obi got 2,406 votes and Kwankwaso scored 18,270.

02:00 pm – Tinubu Wins Jigawa

The collation officer for the 2023 presidential election in Jigawa State, Prof. Arma-Ya’u Hamisu Bichi of the Federal University Dutsinma, Katsina State, has named APC presidential candidate Bola  Tinubu as the winner of the elections in Jigawa state after getting 421, 390 votes.

Former vice president and PDP candidate, Atiku Abubakar, came second with 386,587 votes.

01:30 pm – Orji Kalu wins Senate seat for Abia North 

APC candidate for Abia North Senatorial district election and Senate Chief Whip, Orji Uzor-Kalu, has been declared the winner of the elections by INEC in Abia. 

INEC returning officer, Chinedu Nnamdi, declared Kalu as the winner after getting a total of 30,805 votes. His competitors, Nnamdi Iroh of the Labour Party got 25,540 votes, and Mao Ohuabunwa of the PDP got 15, 175 votes. 

01:20 pm – Dave Umahi wins Ebonyi Senatorial Bid

INEC has named Ebonyi state governor, David Nweze Umahi, as the winner of the senatorial elections in Ebonyi South senatorial district. 

The returning officer, Prof. Augustine Ogugua Egwu of Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu Alike Ikwo, announced that Umahi won with 28,378 votes. 

LP’s  Linus Okorie got a total of 25,496 votes and Michael Amannachi of PDP, the incumbent senator representing Ebonyi South Senatorial zone got 23,092 votes.

01: 20 pm- Peter Obi Wins in Enugu State

Peter Obi of the Labour Party has been declared the winner of the presidential elections conducted in Enugu State.

INEC’s collation officer, Prof. Maduebibisi Iwe, declared the results of the election. Out of  2,112,793 voters registered for the election, there were only 482,990 accredited voters for the election 

Obi won with a total of 428,640 votes, Atiku Abubakar of PDP got 15,749 votes and Bola Tinubu of APC came third with 4772 votes. NNPP’s flagbearer, Rabiu Kwankwaso polled a total of 1,808 votes. 

01: 00 pm – Tinubu Wins in Ondo

APC’s presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, has won the presidential election in Ondo State.

INEC’s state returning officer, the Vice Chancellor, Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, Prof. Abayomi Fashina, announced the results at INEC headquarters in Akure after collation from the 18 council areas.

APC won with a total of 369,924 votes, Atiku Abubakar of PDP got 115,463 votes and Peter Obi of the Labour Party polled 47,350 votes.

01:00 pm – Tinubu Wins In Oyo State 

Bola Tinubu of APC emerged victorious after the collation of votes in Oyo state.

The results were announced by INEC officer, Prof. Olusola Babatunde.  Tinubu won with 449,884 total votes, Atiku trailed with 182,977 votes, Obi got 99,110 votes and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigerian Peoples Party polled 4,095 in fourth place.

Babatunde noted that a total of 851,956 votes had been cast. 809,485 votes were valid and 42,471 votes were rejected.

12:40 pm – Ekiti Presidential Results Challenged By PDP

On Monday, Dino Melaye rejected the presidential election result declared for Ekiti State, alleging over-voting at the national collation centre in Abuja. 

Melaye, an agent of the PDP, noted that the figures of results announced by the INEC for Ekiti State did not tally.

INEC had declared the APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, winner for Ekiti State with 201,494 defeating PDP’s Abubakar Atiku who scored 89, 554.

Peter Obi was said to have gotten 11,397 votes and Rabiu Kwankwaso got 264 votes; 1703 votes were cancelled due to the bypass of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation Systems and over-voting.

Melaye said the party observed an increase of 887 in the total number of figures from Ekiti State.

11:30 am – Peter Obi Wins Lagos State

Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), has won the presidential election in Lagos state. He defeated Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate and former governor.

Obi had 582,354 votes, Tinubu got 572,606 votes, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) got 75,750 votes, while Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) had 8,442 votes.

Lagos State had a total of 6,942,885 registered voters; accredited voters at the polls were 1,347,152, total votes cast was 1,335,729, with valid votes at 1,271,451 and rejected votes at 64,278.

Though APC won in more local government areas while Obi won with the majority of votes cast in the state.

11: 00 am – INEC Suspends Rescheduled Elections in Abia

The Independent National Electoral Commission has suspended the rescheduled presidential and legislative elections in seven local government areas in Abia.

In a statement, Rebecca Jim, the head of Voter Education and Publicity, INEC Abia, said a new date would be communicated with the public in due time. 

‘The proposed election in polling units where election could not hold on Saturday, 25th February, 2023 in Abia scheduled for Monday, 27th February, 2023 has been put on hold. You shall be communicated in due course on a new date. All inconveniences are highly regretted,’ Jim said. 

The elections were to hold at various polling units in Aba North, Aba South, Arochukwu, Obingwa, Osisioma, Ohafia and Umuahia North local government areas.

08:00 am – APC National Chairman Abdullahi Adamu Loses Senatorial Seat 

Ahmed Wadada of the Social Democratic Party beat the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Abdullahi Adamu at the Nasarawa West senatorial polls. 

The INEC returning officer, Prof. Nasiruddeen Baba announced that the SDP candidate won with 96,488 votes over  APC’s 47,717 votes, PDP’s 46,820 votes and LP’s 33,228 votes.

07:00 am – Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State Loses Senatorial bid to the Labour Party

Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of the Peoples Democratic Party has lost his senatorial bid to the Labour Party (LP) candidate for the district, Okechukwu Ezea.

The Returning Officer for the election, Chukwuemeka Ubaka, announced the result at the collation centre of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Nsukka Local Government Area headquarters on Monday at about 05: 20 am. Ezea won with a total of 104,492 votes over Ugwuanyi’s 46,948 votes.

11:00 pm – Ben Ayade loses the senatorial election in Cross River

Cross River State Governor, Benedict Ayade, has lost his bid to return to the Senate after being defeated at the polls by the incumbent senator representing Cross River North, Jarigbe Agom-Jarigbe.

Ayade, who served in the Senate between 2011 and 2015, lost with 56,595 votes to Agom-Jarigbe of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), with 76,145 votes.

INEC’s state returning officer, Emmanuel Emanghe, announced the result for the polls around 3:05 am on Monday.

10:30 pm – Labour Party Defeats Banky W, Babajide Obanikoro for Eti-Osa House of Reps

The candidate of Labour Party, Thaddeus Attah, has been declared as winner in Eti-Osa Federal Constituency seat in the House of Representatives.

INEC’s Returning Officer, Prof. Funmilayo Odukoya, announced the results on Sunday at the Collation Centre, Lagos State Model Nursery and Primary School, Marwa, Lekki 1.

Attah won with 24,075 votes, defeating Olubankole Wellington (Banky W) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who had 18,666 votes, and Babajide Obanikoro of the APC, who got 16, 901 votes.

Babajide, the son of former Minister of Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, is the current lawmaker representing the constituency.

10:00 pm – Femi Gbajabiamila Elected for the Sixth time as Federal Lawmaker

Femi Gbajabiamila, the current speaker of the House of Representatives, won reelection for a sixth term in office.

Gbajabiamila, who won with 19,717 votes, defeated Bosun Jeje of the Peoples Democratic Party, who got 5,121 votes, in Surulere 1 federal constituency elections.

Femi Gbajabiamila was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2003.  He had served as minority whip, minority leader, opposition leader, and majority leader before getting elected as speaker in 2019.

09:00 pm – Former Ogun State Governor Gbenga Daniel Wins Senate Election

A former Governor of Ogun State and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Gbenga Daniel, has won the Ogun East senatorial election.

The official results were announced by the Returning Officer, Prof. Christopher Onwuka, at the Ogun East Senatorial Collation Centre in Itoro Hall, Ijebu-Ode.

Daniel scored 115,147 votes, PDP came second with 58,708 votes, and Labour Party followed with 13,061 votes.

Daniel cleared all the nine local government areas in the senatorial district, including Ijebu North, Odogbolu, Remo North, Sagamu, Ijebu North East, Ijebu-Ode, Ijebu East, Ikenne and Ogun Waterside.

07:00 pm – Atiku Wins in Osun State

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar has won in Osun State.

INEC State Collation Officer, Folashade Ogunsola announced the result at the State Collation Centre on Sunday afternoon. Atiku scored a total of 354,366 votes, Bola Tinubu of APC got 343,945 votes and Peter Obi of the Labour Party got 23,283 votes

Atiku Abubakar won  in 20 out of the 23 local government areas of Osun State as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

06:00 pm – INEC Explains Glitches by IREV 

Earlier today, the Independent National Electoral Commission tried to explain the reason behind difficulties encountered using its Results Viewing Portal for the 2023 general elections.

In a statement by national commissioner and chairman, Festus Okoye, the electoral body said the challenges came as  INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV) struggled to scale from a platform for managing off-season state elections to managing nationwide general elections. 

‘The Commission is aware of challenges with the INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV). Unlike in off- season elections where the portal was used, it has been relatively slow and unsteady. The Commission regrets this setback, especially because of the importance of IReV in our results management process.

The problem is totally due to technical hitches related to scaling up the IReV from a platform for managing off-season state elections, to one for managing nationwide general elections. It is indeed not unusual for glitches to occur and be corrected in such situations.

Consequently, the Commission wishes to assure Nigerians that the challenges are not due to any intrusion or sabotage of our systems, and that the IReV remains well-secured.

Our technical team is working assiduously to solve all the outstanding problems, and users of the IReV would have noticed improvements since last night.

We also wish to assure Nigerians that results from the Polling Unit Copies of which were issued to political parties, are safe on both the BVAS and the IReV portal. These results cannot be tampered with and any discrepancy between them and the physical results used in collation will be thoroughly investigated and remediated, in line with Section 65 of the Electoral Act 2022.

While we fully appreciate the concerns of the public on this situation and welcome various suggestions that we have received from concerned Nigerians, it is important to avoid statements and actions that can heat up the polity at this time or promote disaffection towards the Commission.

We take full responsibility for the problems and regret the distress that they have caused the candidates, political parties and the electorate,’ the statement said.

03:00 pm – Tinubu Wins in Ekiti State

INEC has announced the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Bola Tinubu, as the winner of the presidential election in Ekiti State.

INEC Presiding Officer, Akeem Lasisi, announced the result at the State Collation Centre in Ado-Ekiti on Sunday afternoon.

Tinubu scored a total of 201,494 votes,  Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), got 89,554 votes and Peter Obi of the Labour Party got 11,397 votes.

The Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, has praised the people of the state for their peaceful conduct during Saturday’s general elections and for voting in APC. 

12:00 pm – Two Arrested in Plateau for BVAS Snatching

Plateau State’s commissioner of police in charge of election security, Mamman Dauda, said security agents had arrested two suspects who allegedly snatched Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines during Saturday’s presidential and legislative elections. 

Dauda said that the suspects were arrested in Riyom local government area of the state by the special task force, Operation Safe Haven (OPSH), and have been handed over for further investigation.

10:30 – Rescheduled Polls in Bayelsa Yet to Commence

At the time of this update, the postponed presidential and legislative elections set to hold at the four registration areas of the Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State for Sunday have not started. PUNCH reported that INEC officials were notably absent at polling units in Yenagoa on Sunday. 

On Saturday,  INEC suspended elections in 141 polling units of Bayelsa State over disruptions in the voting process. Voters had protested at INEC’s Yenagoa office after election officials failed to show up at their polling units.

The Independent National Electoral Commission will continue the presidential and legislative elections in parts of Nigeria on Sunday.

National chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, on Saturday announced the extension period of voting for the Presidential and National Assembly elections.

Nigeria’s 2023 general election was slated for 25 February 2023, but due to the late arrival of voting materials and INEC staff, the Commission decided to extend the polls to 26 February, 2023.

INEC said the decision was made due to pockets of violence observed and ‘tactical disenfranchisement’ in some areas.

Voting in the affected areas will commence by 8:00 am till 12:00 pm on Sunday.

Elections will continue in Lagos: Surulere, Ikate, Okota, Eti-Osa, Kosofe and Oshodi and some places in the Federal Capital Territory. Other places include Ebonyi, Rivers. Imo, Anambra, Kano, Edo, Delta, Kogi, Bayelsa, Enugu, Sokoto, Taraba, Abia, Ekiti.

In Plateau, the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr Oliver Agundu, said the decision was made after an assessment of Jos, the state capital, and other parts of the state.

Agundu said voting times had been extended to enable registered voters to cast their vote, saying the technical hitches encountered led to the late start of voting.

25 February 2023

06:00 pm – INEC has postponed voting in Bayelsa State until Sunday

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has postponed voting for the presidential and National Assembly elections in 141 polling units in Bayelsa State until 26 Sunday, 2023.

National chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, said the exercise was postponed as the voting process was disrupted.

‘We have a situation in Bayelsa state, particularly in the capital of Yenagoa where in four wards — wards 4,6,8,14 involving 141 polling units, the process was disrupted,’ Yakubu said. ‘We remobilized security and the situation is calm for us to continue the process. But the youth corps members expressed some apprehension about going back. So we met with security agencies and we’ve decided that voting in these 141 polling units where the materials are actually intact, will take place tomorrow morning.’

Lagos State, which recorded the highest rate of PVC collection—6,214,970 voter cards collected, saw multiple instances of electoral violence incidents as polling units opened and voting began on Saturday. 

The APC stronghold saw the burning of election materials in Oshodi, as well as attacks on the officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

There were also reports of disruptions in other areas on the mainland including Aguda and Ojo. Lagos State’s Commissioner of Police, Idowu Owohunwa, confirmed this to Channels Television.

‘It was an admixture of very peaceful conduct in most parts but we also recorded isolated instances of thuggery. Like I said earlier, we anticipated them and we have multiple teams to respond in the fastest manner,’ Owohunwa said. ‘I can confirm that several arrests have been made but as at this moment it is still an ongoing process. So, I cannot conclusively say this is the number of polling units where violence was recorded but at the end of the day we will do a post-election evaluation and come up with specifics.’

The International Crisis Group analysed potential flashpoints for this year’s election, highlighting Lagos, Rivers, Kano, Kaduna, Ebonyi, and Imo. Already, there have been over 50 recorded acts of political violence, since campaigns began in September 2022.

05:30 PM | PETER OBI WINS AT OWN POLLING UNIT, ASO ROCK POLLING UNITS

From PU 019, Ward 02, Agulu, Anambra, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, won with 236 votes, PDP and APC got no votes.

05: 00 PM | NUMBERS FROM PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE’S POLLING UNITS SHOW WINS, LOSSES

The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu won at his polling unit—Ward 3, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos state, with 33 votes over the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP) with 1 vote and 8 votes respectively. 

PDP’s presidential hopeful, Atiku Abubakar, also won at his polling unit. PDP won at polling unit 12 in Ajiya, Gwadabawa ward in Yola North, Adamawa State with 282 votes; APC gained 57 votes and LP had 6 votes. 

At the time of this update, no results have been announced from the polling unit of  LP’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

16:00 | DELAYS BY ELECTORAL BODY STALL VOTING IN STATES

Multiple reports from local media have revealed that voting in polling units across Nigeria has experienced delays due to the late arrival of election materials and personnel of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

In Ogun State, the Guardian reported the late arrival of the voting officials. 

‘In some of the polling units in Abeokuta, the state capital, security personnel and electorate were seen waiting for the electoral officers as at 9:20am, while in some others, accreditation and voting started as early as 8:35am,’ Guardian reported.

In Imo State, voters in Owerri West and North local government areas noted the absence of INEC officials and voting materials at the various polling centres in the state.

Delays have been reported in Taraba, the Federal Capital Territory, Bayelsa,  Rivers, Cross River,  Edo and Delta. 

On Saturday morning, the vice presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Kashim Shettima, left his polling unit in Borno State, after INEC officials were a no-show. Shettima has finally been able to cast his vote, the Guardian reports. 

The presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso, also raised concerns over voting due to INEC’s late arrival to polling units in Kano.

Ahead of the polls, the electoral body said it deployed 3,876 observers to polling units across Nigeria and 774 mobile observers across all local governments of the country for the elections today. In a press briefing on Saturday, national chairman Mahmood Yakubu cited logistical concerns.

According to Yakubu:

‘Some of the reasons why we could not open some of the polling units on time include; perennial problems of logistics in spite of our best efforts. I think we have conquered the challenge of getting election materials to various locations. Though there may be complaints here and there, generally speaking, we have delivered millions of ballot papers and result sheets that we are supposed to deliver for the election. But another contributing factor to the late opening of polling units is actually the perennial insecurity in the country. For instance, we could not deploy early enough to Alawa in Shiroro Local Government Area in Niger State. Bandits launched an attack, not necessarily on INEC offices or facilities but in the area. With the advice of the security agencies, we tarried a while but I am happy to say that we are able to deploy to Alawa, and voting in that location is ongoing as we speak.’

Voting at Nigeria’s tightly contested elections was to run till 2:30 pm. In light of the delays, INEC has extended the time for voting indefinitely in states like Enugu, over the late start by its officials. 

15:00 | VOTING SUSPENDED IN LAFIA, NASARAWA STATE OVER BVAS FAILURE

Voting in government college unit 30 B and 30 C of Bakin Rijiya in Lafia local government, Nasarawa State over the failure of the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS). The BVAS, reported by the Guardian,  stopped functioning after accrediting about 58 voters.

11:00 | IN RIVERS STATE, NYESOM WIKE IS NOT ACCREDITED OVER BVAS FAILURE

Rivers State governor Nyesom Wike arrived at his polling unit 7 in Ward 9 in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area with his wife, Justice Suzzette Eberechi Wike at about 10:30 am.

However, the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System failed to accredit the Wike’s and other voters present. Speaking with PUNCH, Wike said he was highly disappointed in the Independent National Electoral Commission for failing to keep its promise in the conduct of the elections

10:30 | KASHIM SHETTIMA UNABLE TO VOTE DUE TO POLLING UNIT DELAYS

The vice presidential candidate of the ruling All Progessives Congress, Kashim Shettima, arrived to cast his ballot at polling unit 001 in Lawan Bukar ward of Maiduguri, but was unable to do so as his designated polling station had not opened.

Vanguard reported that Shettima, in the company of Borno State governor Babagana Zulum left the polling unit after ten minutes of waiting.

10:00 | EFCC SETS OUT TO  STOP VOTE-BUYING AT THE POLLS

The officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have arrived at multiple polling units for inspection, to observe and prevent vote buying. On Saturday, EFCC agents were spotted at multiple polling units including those of the presidential and vice presidential candidates for APC: Bola Tinubu in Lagos and Kashim Shettima in Borno.

On Friday, the commission intercepted N32.4 million new notes suspected to be used for vote buying in Lagos.

09:55 | PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI CASTS HIS VOTE IN DAURA, KATSINA

President Muhammadu Buhari has cast his vote in Daura, Katsina State where he arrived on Thursday ahead of the polls. Buhari has been on the ballot in five consecutive election cycles and will, for the first time in two decades, not be on the ballot.

Buhari is a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and has campaigned for his party’s flag bearer, Bola Tinubu during rallies. His second term of eight years will end on 29 May 2023.

09:00 | PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES VOTE AS POLLS OPEN

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, has cast his vote in his hometown of Adamawa.

At the time of this update, Atiku’s counterpart for the Labour Party, former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, had not yet cast his vote in Amatutu village, Agulu ward two, polling unit 019 and Vanguard reports that the polling unit for the presidential candidate for the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, had yet to open. 

‘Officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are yet to arrive at the polling unit of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu. His polling unit is PU 085, Ward 3, Sunday Adigun, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos State,’ Vanguard said. 

08:30 | NIGERIA DECIDES

By Hillary Essien, Senior Associate Editor

Polls for Nigeria’s 2023 presidential and legislative elections are being held in 176,606 polling units located in 8,809 registration areas or electoral wards in 774 local government areas nationwide. Polling stations and voting has commenced across the country and will run until 2:30pm.

Voting will not be held in 240 polling stations, due to insecurity and internal displacement as a result of violence. On Friday, the Independent National Electoral Commission suspended the senatorial elections in Enugu East senatorial district following the death of the Labour Party’s candidate.