In an open interview with The Sun, Chief Chekwas Okorie—the All Progressives Grand Alliance's (APGA) founding national chairman—analyzed the outcomes of the 2023 presidential election. The election, he said, was unprecedented in Nigeria's electoral history. An experienced politician raised an issue he claimed was a big discrepancy in the election. If you believe Okorie, "What happened in 2023 was an aberration," he backs up his claim with numbers.
He gave a detailed breakdown of the voting patterns, drawing attention to the large disparity between the victor's total and the combined opposition's. He brought attention to the fact that Out of the three presidential candidates, Tinubu garnered about 8.9 million votes, while Atiku and Obi were jointly given 13.5 million. This disparity represents a major mathematical error in the voting procedure. Okorie continued by explaining the significance of these figures: "This means that 13.5 million people did not want Tinubu as president, while only 8.9 million supported him."
This finding points to an unusual circumstance when the elected president garnered fewer votes than the whole opposition party. The intricate constitutional nuances that enabled this outcome were also discussed by Okorie. He pointed out, "A president with minority support was elected due to our system, which requires you to achieve 25 percent of two-thirds of the federation." He was concerned that this stipulation would spark debate, particularly over the "definition of the federal capital territory."
Questions concerning the interpretation of constitutional standards for deciding election results and Nigeria's electoral system are brought up by these remarks made by a prominent political figure. This dispute is an ongoing one on the degree to which the Nigerian voting system accurately represents the will of the people. Okorie's remarks are a part of a broader national discussion regarding the necessity to assess whether the present system fairly represents the will of the people in presidential elections and the possibility of modifying the electoral system.