Tinubu appears to be in the lead as counting starts after Nigeria's presidential elections

FORMER Lagos State governor Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) appears to be in the lead as counting gets underway in Nigeria's presidential election which took place yesterday.

In what was Africa's largest democratic exercise, Nigerians went to the polls yesterday to elect a new president. Among the main frontrunners were Asiwaju Tinubu, former vice president Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), former Kano State governor Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) and former Anambra State governor Peter Obi of the Labour Party.

Although Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission is yet to release official results, Asiwaju Tinubu appears to be coasting to victory. It looks like he has won in four of Nigeria's six geo-political zones, pushing Alhaji Abubakar into second place and Governor Obi trailing in third, thanks to the youth vote.

Turnout appears to be high, especially among young people who make up about a third of the 87m eligible voters. Final results are not expected before tomorrow at the earliest and possibly not until Wednesday, with Independent National Electoral Commission chairman Mahmood Yakubu, apologising for the delays and hiccups.

Many have described the historic presidential poll as a three-horse race, with the consensus being that it is Nigeria’s most competitive election to date. In all, 94m citizens registered for the election and no fewer than 87.2m of them have collected their permanent voter cards (PVCs) and were eligible to vote.