In a crucial clarification that has intrigued the polity, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has finally addressed the concerns surrounding the timing of the results for the 2023 presidential election.
After a suspense-filled wait, President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was announced as the victor of the fiercely contested election, amassing a total of 8,794,726 votes.
His closest contenders included Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peter Obi of the Labour Party, and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).
The declaration came in the early hours of March 1, 2023, at about 2 am, stirring diverse reactions across the nation.
The timing, according to the Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman Professor Mahmood Yakubu, Rotimi Oyekanmi, was dictated by the complex logistics of collating results from Nigeria’s vast geographical spread.
The process involves the aggregation of results from polling units to wards, local governments, states, and finally to the national level in Abuja.
Oyekanmi also emphasized that neither the constitution nor the electoral act mandates a specific time for declaring election results, which allowed the commission the flexibility needed to ensure accuracy and thoroughness in the electoral process.
He said, “In a presidential election, the country is treated as one constituency. Results are declared at polling units, then collated at the ward, local government, and state levels before being presented in Abuja to the Chief Electoral Commissioner. People didn’t understand this and criticised the 2 AM announcement.
“The Chairman had to wait for 36 returning officers, including those from distant locations, to present their results. The electoral act requires that results be brought and the returning officers be interviewed. The chairman questions the returning officers and, if unsatisfied, sends them back.
“Only after accepting all figures from the returning officers and the FCT can results be collated and announced. The delay led to claims that we declared results in the middle of the night. However, Prof. Attahiru Jega declared the 2015 results around 4 AM. The constitution does not prescribe a specific time for declaring election results.”
