The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak has congratulated Nigeria’s president-elect Bola Tinubu on the just concluded presidential election.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Tinubu the winner in the small hours of Wednesday morning.
Tinubu, on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), claimed the highest number of votes — 8,794,726, almost two million votes more than his closest rival, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Abubakar, 76, who has now run for President six times, got 6,984,520 votes, while the candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, who, in less than a year, galvanized young voters in a manner some have described as unprecedented finished the race with 6,101,533.
Both the UK and Nigeria share a longstanding relationship that has withstood the latter’s over-62-year independence from the former.
“Congratulations to @officialABAT on his victory in Nigeria. The UK-Nigeria relationship remains strong,” Sunak tweeted on Wednesday evening.
“I look forward to working together to grow our security and trade ties, opening up opportunities for businesses and creating prosperity in both our countries.”