Politics

Five Factors That Helped Tinubu Win Presidential Election

Published

3 years ago

March 4, 2023

The president-elect, Bola Tinubu emerged through a highly contested presidential election and he is expected to be sworn in as the 16th president of Nigeria.

The former Lagos State governor emerged despite several polls by different organizations that wrote him off. Also, the naira redesigning policy almost torpedoed his presidential ambition at the last minute but barring any court pronouncement, he will be sworn in as president on 29 May.

In this piece, DAILY POST will review the five major factors that paved the way for him to emerge against all odds.

A divided opposition

Tinubu went into the election against a fragmented opposition. In 2019, Abubakar Atiku, Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso all worked together in PDP but they were defeated by the force of Muhammadu Buhari.

Despite the defeat, PDP maintained its stronghold in the Southeast and Southsouth and also put out good showings in Southwest and Northcentral.

On Saturday, the APC instead faced Obi in Labour Party, Kwankwaso in NNPP and Atiku in PDP. In addition, some members of the G5 governors were believed to have worked for the ruling party.

At the close of the poll, Kwankwaso maintained its hold on Kano, Obi held on to Southeast and Southsouth while Atiku had a good outing in the North, however, their individual performances were not sufficient to defeat the ruling party.

Northcentral came to rescue

Several opinion polls before the election ceded Northcentral to the candidate of the Labour Party but the ruling party pulled a surprise in the region by winning four states, including Benue State.

The party won Kwara, Kogi, Niger, and Benue States. It would be recalled that no one has won the presidential election without winning the Northcentral.

Second position is good

One other factor that helped the ruling party was the ability to secure the second position in a worst-case scenario.

For instance, in Kano State, the NNPP won the state with a wide margin, however, the margin between Tinubu and Atiku was over 380,000 votes. Considering that Atiku was the main contender to Tinubu in the Northwest, the second position was good enough.

In a four-horse race, winning your stronghold is important but how you perform in your opponent’s territory matters.

In the Northwest, Tinubu lost Katsina, Sokoto and Kebbi States by slim margins to Atiku.

In Plateau, Akwa-Ibom, Nasarawa—he was also able to maintain second position.

Strong Allies

The victory of Tinubu in Benue State could be credited to the influence of Father Hyacinth Alia, the APC governorship candidate in Benue State.

In Sokoto State, Aliyu Wamakko ensured that the Director General of the Atiku Campaign, Governor Aminu Tambuwal was unable to deliver Sokoto to Atiku with a wide margin.

In Katsina, President Muhammadu Buhari had to show his ballot to voters to give them a signal on how to vote.

The presence of Godswill Akpabio in Akwa-Ibom helped to get the second position while Governor Nyesom Wike pulled what could have been considered impossible—for the first time, APC won in Rivers State.

Poor performance of Atiku in the South

Some supporters of the former Vice President had in the course of the campaign bragged about the 11 million votes. However, what they failed to consider was that bulk of it came from the south.

Unlike the 2019 election, Atiku performed poorly in the South and Northcentral.

He failed to win a single state in Northcentral and won only three states out of the 17 states in the south—Osun, Akwa- and Bayelsa.

Even his running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa failed to win his state, Delta State.

All these factors gave Tinubu a win at the polls.
DAILY POST

Related Topics:##NigeriaElections2023 #Tinubu

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Politics

PDP Crisis: INEC Rejects Turaki-led NWC

Published

5 days ago

December 23, 2025

Editor

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has said it will not recognise the Kabiru Turaki-led National Working Committee, NWC, of the Peoples Democratic Party, citing existing court judgments and unresolved legal processes.

This was as contained in a letter dated December 22, 2025, signed by INEC Secretary, Dr Rose Oriaran-Anthony.

The Commission stated that it could not act on demands to acknowledge or upload on its website the list of national officers said to have been elected at the National Convention held on November 15 and 16, 2025, in Ibadan.

According to INEC, its position was guided by subsisting court decisions and pending litigation relating to the leadership crisis within the PDP.

The electoral body further noted that it would be improper to recognise any factional officers while the matter remains before the courts.

Politics

Govt That Fails To Protect Its Citizens Has No Business Remaining In Office – Kwankwaso

Published

5 days ago

December 23, 2025

Editor

Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement and 2023 presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), has accused the Federal Government under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of lacking the political will to tackle Nigeria’s worsening insecurity.

Kwankwaso spoke on Tuesday in Kano while unveiling 2,000 operatives of the Kano State Neighbourhood Security Network.

He urged President Tinubu to “rise to the occasion and truly act as the Commander-in-Chief” in addressing banditry and other security challenges.

According to him, Nigeria’s military “remains one of the most gallant in the world,” having served in international peacekeeping missions in Darfur, Liberia, and other conflict zones.

However, he said the armed forces are not being adequately supported to perform optimally.

“Today, many innocent Nigerians are being killed, while the perpetrators walk freely as if nothing happened. The government must apologise to Nigerians for its laxity in the fight against insecurity,” he said.

Kwankwaso, who once served as Minister of Defence, added: “When I was Defence Minister, I knew the capability of the Nigerian military. They are courageous and professional but need clear direction, support, and political will to do the needful.”

He stressed that Nigeria’s armed forces had historically ranked among the best globally and urged the government to equip them properly to change the current security situation.

Kwankwaso also said that if elected president in 2027, he would recruit over one million additional military personnel to strengthen national security.

“Any government that fails to protect the lives and property of its citizens has failed woefully and has no business remaining in office,” he declared.

He further called on the Federal Government to integrate community-based security initiatives, like the Kano Neighbourhood Security Network, into the national security system to boost morale and improve intelligence-driven operations against criminals.

Politics

ADC Announces Temporary Closure Of Secretariat

Published

5 days ago

December 23, 2025

Editor

The African Democratic Congress, ADC , says it has temporarily closed its National Secretariat as part of the end-of-year break.

A statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said full operations are scheduled to resume in the New Year.

According to the statement, the secretariat will close on December 23, 2025, and reopen on January 5, 2026.

The party, however, said essential skeletal services will remain available throughout the period, while all other official activities at the National Secretariat will be suspended to allow staff and party officials observe the Christmas and New Year holidays.

“This is to inform the public that the African Democratic Congress National Secretariat will close for the year on 23rd December 2025 and will resume full operations on 5th January 2026.

“During this period, only skeletal services will be available, while all other official activities at the Secretariat will be temporarily suspended,” the statement said.

The party thanked its members, partners and supporters for their continued loyalty and cooperation throughout the year, noting that their support remains critical to the growth and stability of the party.

The ADC also said it is committed to its ideals and to democratic engagement as it prepares for activities in the coming year.