By Adedapo Adesanya
The candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 presidential election, Mr Peter Obi, has defeated Mr Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress in Lagos State in a development that is unprecedented in the state.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) results on Monday, tracked by Business Post, showed that Mr Obi won in a hotly-contested race against Mr Tinubu, a former two-time state governor of the country’s commercial hub.
Mr Tinubu, known as Jagaban, has been regarded as the godfather of the Lagos political landscape and a kingmaker who has a hand in the emergence of his successors, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode and the incumbent Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Final results declared by the electoral body showed Mr Obi garnered 582,454 for Labour Party against Mr Tinubu’s 572,606 for the APC.
The Peoples Democratic Party’s Atiku Abubakar came a distant third in the exercise with 75,750 votes, while the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party, Mr Rabiu Kwankwaso, managed to get 8,8442 votes in fourth place.
Mr Obi won nine local government areas of the state. The LGAs are Ajeromi-Ifelodun, Amuwo-Odofin, Eti-Osa, Ikeja, Kosofe, Oshodi-Isolo, Somolu, Ojo, and Alimosho.
Mr Tinubu triumphed in Agege, Apapa, Badagry, Epe, Ibeju-Lekki, Ifako-Ijaiye, Ikorodu, Lagos Island, Lagos Mainland, and Surulere.
This sets a tempo for the governorship election on March 11, which could turn a tide in the APC’s 24 years firm grip on the commercial city.
Modupe Gbadeyanka