President Bola Tinubu has praised Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa for clinching victory in the Ondo State election. The candidate from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) secured a landslide win with 366,781 votes, overshadowing his closest rival, Ajayi Agboola of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who managed only 117,845 votes. It’s quite the blow to the PDP, signaling a clear dominance of the APC in the region.
After the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced Aiyedatiwa’s win, Tinubu wasted no time addressing the inevitable backlash from opposing parties. The President, in his call for calm, urged disgruntled candidates to “explore the opportunities provided by the judicial system to seek redress on areas of conflict.” This is a scripted response in Nigerian politics, lose an election, head to court.
In his congratulatory message, Tinubu couldn’t help but applaud the entire electoral process. He expressed satisfaction with how the campaign and voting played out, giving an approval to the “maturity and sense of purpose” displayed by Aiyedatiwa and candidates from the 17 other political parties involved. It’s funny how every winner lauds the civility of an election, yet the losing sides often paint a picture of chaos and irregularities(typical Nigerian election for you).
The President went on to highlight the efficiency of INEC, praising their “early preparations, deployment of staff and materials, and handling of the electoral process.” He was particularly impressed with the speed of result uploads, noting that over “98 per cent of results” were made available on the same day of the elections. For once, it seems INEC managed to pull off a performance worth commending, at least in the eyes of the winner and his allies.
The election, in many ways, served as another test of INEC’s capabilities. And while Tinubu’s glowing endorsement of their conduct might seem like a vote of confidence, it’s not a sentiment universally shared. People have already begun to question the transparency of the process, but for now, Aiyedatiwa’s victory stands, leaving aggrieved parties to gather their evidence and prepare for what could be another long-winded legal battle.
