The 2023 Nigerian presidential election was one of the most competitive in the country’s democratic history. For the first time since 1999, a third-party candidate captured 12 states and the FCT, fundamentally disrupting the two-party system.
The Final Numbers
APC’s Bola Tinubu won with 8,794,726 votes at 36.6 percent, followed by PDP’s Atiku Abubakar with 6,984,520 at 28.9 percent, Labour Party’s Peter Obi with 6,101,533 at 25.2 percent, and NNPP’s Rabiu Kwankwaso with 1,496,687 at 6.2 percent.
The Obidient Phenomenon
Peter Obi’s campaign generated unprecedented civic engagement among Nigeria’s youth. The Obidient movement mobilised first-time voters across urban centres, producing Labour Party’s best-ever presidential result.
What Changed
The election produced Nigeria’s lowest presidential voter turnout at 26.72 percent and raised serious questions about INEC’s IReV result transmission system.