The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has explained the reasons behind announcing the results of the 2023 presidential election during the early hours of the morning. Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was declared the winner with 8,794,726 votes, ahead of Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP). The announcement was made on Wednesday, March 1, at around 2 am.
The timing of the declaration raised concerns among some Nigerians, especially supporters of the losing candidates. However, INEC’s Chief Press Secretary, Rotimi Oyekanmi, addressed these concerns, explaining that the country is treated as a single constituency during presidential elections, requiring a thorough process of result collation from all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Oyekanmi highlighted that INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, had to wait for all 36 returning officers from various states, including distant regions like Sokoto and Maiduguri, to present their results in Abuja before the final announcement could be made. He clarified that there is no specific time outlined in the Constitution or the Electoral Act for announcing election results.
“In a presidential election, the country is treated as one constituency, with results collated at various levels before being presented in Abuja,” Oyekanmi stated. “The delay caused by waiting for all the returning officers, as well as the necessary questioning of the figures, led to the late announcement. Similar instances have occurred before, including the 2015 election results declared around 4 am by Prof. Attahiru Jega.”
