Bola Tinubu was declared the winner of Nigeria’s presidential election, a victory that will place him at the helm of Africa’s biggest economy as it confronts a deepening fiscal crisis, acute shortages of local and foreign currency and gasoline, and widespread insecurity.
The ruling party’s candidate won 35.2% of the votes cast on Saturday, while Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party finished runner-up with about 28%, official results announced Wednesday showed. Tinubu will succeed Muhammadu Buhari as president in late May after a three-month transition period.
The ex-governor of Lagos state, Tinubu will inherit a mountain of public debt that’s grown seven-fold to 77 trillion naira ($167 billion) during Buhari’s eight-year tenure and left the government with an interest bill that consumed about four-fifths of its revenue last year. Besides having to get the nation’s finances back on track, he’ll need to quash violence perpetrated by jihadists, secessionists and armed bandits across vast swathes of territory.
