Nigerian president Bola Tinubu defeats Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi.

(BBC) ⸻ Ruling party candidate Bola Tinubu has been declared the winner of Nigeria's disputed presidential election, with 37% of the vote. His main rival Atiku Abubakar polled 29%, and Labour's Peter Obi 25%. Mr Tinubu is one of Nigeria's richest politicians and based his campaign on his record of rebuilding the biggest city, Lagos, when he was governor. He won most other states in his home region of the south-west, where he is known as a "political godfather". He campaigned for the presidency under the slogan "It's my turn". He called for reconciliation with his opponents and said that they had the right to challenge the results in court, but that the lapses in the election "were relatively few in number and were immaterial to affect the outcome of this election". He now has the task of solving these problems, among others, in Africa's most populous nation and biggest oil exporter. President Muhammadu Buhari is stepping down after two terms in office, marked by economic stagnation and growing insecurity. Tinubu was the favourite to replace Buhari and won the party primary despite not expected to win. His decision to go with another Muslim as a running mate was seen as an obstacle, but it was not. He will now have to prove that he can hit the ground running and unify a country that is retreating into regional lines and religious blocs. Obi won in Christian-dominated states and former strongholds of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party in the south, while PDP support shrank back into its northern heartlands.