Nigeria's Bola Tinubu declared winner of presidential vote

Supporters of Presidential candidate Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress celebrate the victory of their candidate in the presidential elections at the Party's campaign headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria, Wednesday, March 1, 2023. [AP]

Tinubu, 70, is the former governor of Lagos state, home to Nigeria's megacity of the same name. However, he lost the state in Saturday's election to Obi, who drew a strong following among younger voters eager for change.

The parties now have three weeks to appeal results, but an election can be invalidated only if it's proven the national electoral body largely didn't follow the law and acted in ways that could have changed the result.

The Supreme Court of Nigeria has never overturned a presidential election, though court challenges are common, including by outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari, who doggedly fought his past election losses for months in vain.

Nigeria's presidential election has been closely watched as the country is not only the continent's largest economy but it is also one of the continent's top oil producers.

Observers have said Saturday's election was mostly peaceful, though delays caused some voters to wait until the following day to cast their ballots. Many Nigerians had difficulties getting to their polling stations because of a currency redesign that resulted in a shortage of bank notes.