SW News: Catholic bishops in Nigeria are appealing for peace, advising citizens to uphold the law, and encouraging them to pray as tensions are mounting in the wake of the declaration that Bola Ahmed Tinubu has won the presidential election with 37% votes. His main rival Atiku Abubakar polled 29%, and Labour's Peter Obi 25%.

Seventy-year-old Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party will succeed Muhammadu Buhari. “It was my pleasure to receive His Excellency the President-Elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and His Excellency the Vice President-Elect, Senator Kashim Shettima, at home in Daura, today. Two men who are true believers in Nigeria and genuinely committed to progress & development,” tweeted Buhari who stepped down after two terms in office. Buhari's tenure was marked by growing insecurity due to Islamist insurgency in the northeast to separatist attacks in the southeast.

With the announcement of Tinubu's victory, anger, and resentment are growing. Opposition leaders are demanding a new election because the results were allegedly rigged. The Catholic bishops have also questioned the voting process's transparency. They expressed disappointment at the Independent National Electoral Commission over its conduct.

Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, President of the Bishops’ Conference, regretted that the experiences of many voters on Election Day were a far cry from the hitch-free exercise that was repeatedly promised. The recent use of an electronic voting system appears to have ended ballot stuffing and contributed to the presentation of a more realistic picture of the electorate. However, given that 87 million individuals obtained their voter registration before election day, which was a difficult procedure requiring hours of waiting in lines, it seems more likely that issues on election day contributed to the low turnout than voter indifference or apathy. Voting started late in numerous locations, and many potential voters abandoned polling booths before casting their ballots. In some opposition strongholds, voting was not allowed, and there were instances of ballot box stealing and voter intimidation in southern states like Rivers, Lagos, and Delta.