Tinubu urges Nigerians to overcome 'partisan divide' and 'come together'

Nigeria's president elect received Wednesday (Mar. 1st) the certificate of return from the electoral commission chairman.

During the ceremony that took place in Abuja, Bola Tinubu collected the formal document confirming his victory and urged his fellow Nigerians to overcome any partisan divide.

"I (take) this opportunity also to again, to appeal to my fellow contestants to let us team up together. It is the only nation we have," he pleaded.

"It is one country that we must build together. We won together. To put broken pieces together, we must work for the unity, happiness and the harmony."

Tinubu’s victory kept the ruling party in power in Africa's most populous nation, raising the spectre of protests by opposition supporters who already have called for the vote to be voided.

Tinubu's speech came as the third-place finisher revealed he intended to challenge the results.

Much of Nigeria remained calm Wednesday afternoon.

The election recorded a low turnout. This doesn’t necessarily mean voter apathy, as participation was dampened by fuel and currency shortages, voter suppression and violence, according to some analysts.

The president elect is to be sworn in on May 29th.