African Leaders Congratulate Bol Tinuba on Nigeria’s Presidential Election

The leaders of a number of African countries – Guinea-Bissau, Burundi, Niger, Chad, Liberia – this Wednesday congratulated the candidate of the All-Progressive Congress (VPK, in power) Bolu Ahmed Tinuba on his victory in the presidential election in Nigeria, held on Saturday.

“Congratulations to President Bolu Ahmed Tinubu, who has been declared the winner of Nigeria’s presidential election,” said President Umaro Sissoko Embalo of Guinea-Bissau, interim head of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

“As the current president of ECOWAS, I call on other candidates to accept the results of the election commission in the name of peace and stability in the country,” Embalo added on his Twitter account.

Liberian President George Weah issued a statement in which he also conveyed “heartfelt congratulations” to the President-elect and stressed that he looked forward to working with him to “strengthen the bonds of friendship that exist between the two countries.”

Weah called on all Nigerians to “keep peace in the country during such great democratic exercises.”

The Transitional President of Chad, Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, sent “warm congratulations” to his “dear brother Bola Ahmed Tinub”.

“This blessing of the Nigerian people, expressed to the world, is a lesson in democracy that should inspire the entire African continent,” Debi Itno emphasized also via Twitter, calling for the strengthening of “bilateral relations that cover a wide range of vital and strategic areas.”

Mohamed Bazum, head of state of another neighboring country, Niger, wished success to the winner of the Nigerian elections.

“These free, democratic and transparent elections strengthen democracy in Nigeria and represent great progress for the entire African continent,” Bazum added.

In the same vein, Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye sent “most sincere congratulations” to the President-elect and expressed his desire to “deepen and strengthen the historic friendship” between the two countries.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) of Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and largest economy, declared Tinuba the winner of the presidential election this Wednesday, despite widespread complaints about alleged electoral fraud by major opposition parties that called for the election to be annulled and repeated.

Tinubu, 70, won 36% of the vote (8.79 million carefully checked ballots) against his main rival Atiku Abubakar, the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, who came in second with 29% of the vote (6.98 million ballots) . million).

More than 87 million registered voters were called to vote Saturday in the general election – presidential and legislative – and the vote was generally calm, if not very active.

This Tuesday evening, CENI declared Bol Tinuba “winner and elected” in the presidential race with over 8.8 million votes, winning one of the most contentious elections in Nigeria’s democratic history against two of its main rivals.

Bola Tinubu, 70, former governor of Lagos (1999-2007), was chosen to represent the ruling party. Nicknamed the “Godfather” and “Kingmaker” because of his vast influence in government, this Yoruba (majority ethnic group in the southwest), Muslim denomination, throughout his campaign devoted himself to extending to Nigeria the development successes achieved at the time. . leading directions of the economic capital of the country.

Wealthy businessman Bola Tinubu rose through the ranks of the APC on corruption charges but was never convicted.

Tinubu receives from his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, the difficult task of bringing back an English-speaking African giant under pressure from an anemic economy, recurring violence from extremist groups and mafia, and general impoverishment of the population.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) should rise 3.2% this year to an impressive $574bn (€541.8bn), even as the budget deficit approaches 5% in 2022 and beyond 40% of the Buhari administration’s 2023 budget is expected to be financed by debt.

On the other hand, although the Nigerian economy has recovered from the difficult years of covid-19, growing by 3.5% in the first three quarters of 2022, the economic recovery has been accompanied by increased hardship among Nigerians as the country’s main drivers of growth – oil production and services – do not benefit the majority of the population in terms of jobs and business opportunities.

The unemployment rate in Nigeria is around 33%, a figure that only reflects those who are actively looking for work, and among young people it is even more dramatic, at 43% now, up from 10% before Buhari’s arrival. capacity in 2015.