Many Nigerians, on March 1, 2023, woke up to the news of Bola Ahmed Tinubu being declared winner of the February 25, 2023, presidential election.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), declared Tinubu the winner with total votes of 8,794,726 votes, the highest of all the candidates, thus meeting the first constitutional requirement to be declared the winner.
Tinubu defeated 17 other candidates who took part in the election.
INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu, who announced the final results in the early hours of Wednesday in Abuja, said Atiku Abubakar of the PDP came second in the election.
Atiku polled a total of 6,984,520 votes in the election.
Peter Obi of the Labour Party came third in the election with a total of 6,101,533 votes while Rabiu Kwankwaso of the NNPP came fourth with 1,496,687 votes.
Below are some things to expect during a Tinubu presidency;
Lawsuits
Major opposition parties, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); Labour Party (LP), and the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) have called for the cancellation of the elections over allegations that the electoral commission, INEC, did not comply with the law in the collation and announcement of results.
Their disagreement with the election may result in a lawsuit against INEC and the president-elect, Tinubu.
However this has always been the trend over the years, but the Supreme Court ruling is usually in favour of the declared winner.
Naira notes swap
Tinubu has been open about his concern over the new naira notes circulation.
The president-elect had said he does not have anything against the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Naira re-design and cashless policy.
According to him, he is only concerned about its disruptive implementation and the hardship it brought on the generality of Nigerians.
This, he said, was especially because most Nigerians currently could not access their hard-earned monies and could not meet obligations.
Judging by this, Tinubu might reintroduce the old naira notes into circulation if the naira scarcity persists when he takes over power from the outgoing president, Muhammadu Buhari.
Removal of subsidy
Tinubu during his campaign, has been vocal about his opposition to the fuel subsidy. At a business luncheon with business owners in Lagos during his campaign, the president-elect queried, “How can we subsidise the fuel consumption of Cameroon, Niger, and Benin Republic?”.
He vowed, “No matter how long you protest, we are going to remove the fuel subsidy”.
Tinubu’s 10 promises to Nigerians
- Build a Nigeria, especially for our youth, where sufficient jobs with decent wages create a better life.
- Manufacture, create, and invent more of the goods and services we require. Nigeria shall be known as a nation of creators, not just of consumers.
- Export more and import less, strengthening both the naira and our way of life.
- Continue assisting our ever-toiling farmers, through enlightened agricultural policy that promotes productivity and assures decent incomes, so that farmers can support their families and feed the nation.
- Modernise and expand public infrastructure so that the rest of the economy can grow at an optimal rate.
- Embolden and support our young people and women by harnessing emerging sectors such as the digital economy, entertainment and culture, tourism and others to build the Nigeria of tomorrow, today.
- Train and give economic opportunity to the poorest and most vulnerable among us. We seek a Nigeria where no parent is compelled to send a child to bed hungry, worried whether tomorrow shall bring food.
- Generate, transmit and distribute sufficient, affordable electricity to give our people the requisite power to enlighten their lives, their homes, and their very dreams.
- Make basic healthcare, education, and housing accessible and affordable for all.
- Establish a bold and assertive policy that will create a strong yet adaptive national security architecture and action to obliterate terror, kidnapping, banditry, and all other forms of violent extremism from the face of our nation.
Student Loans
As contained in the Tinubu manifesto, a committee will be tasked with establishing a curriculum that more closely matches educational instruction with the actual and projected needs of the private sector. A modern standard curriculum will be developed and implemented in all primary and secondary schools throughout the country.
Nigeria’s history will be reintroduced to classrooms in the country, while indigenous language courses will be compulsory for all children through the completion of secondary school.
Under a Tinubu administration, teaching will be a “rewarding” career option, while on tertiary education, the administration aims to institute a pilot student loan scheme. Institutions will charge more cost-reflective tuition fees, and with consideration for employment rates and other conditions, the loan programme will have a maximum borrowing limit and flexible repayment provisions.
Youth Empowerment
Through its social and political empowerment plan, the administration aims to reserve at least three cabinet positions for persons under the age of 40, and six more positions for persons under 50.
The government, if elected into power, will also pass a presidential directive requiring that at least 20 percent of political appointments to MDAs be reserved for qualified people under the age of 40.
The administration, if elected, also aims to cut the youth unemployment rate in half within four years, increase intergenerational, business mentoring and cooperation with two million volunteer entrepreneurs and professionals across the nation.
Transfer of VIP Security
Tinubu promised to increase the recruitment of police officers, while the force will be provided with high-tech equipment. While VIP security will be transferred to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
