February 25, (THEWILL) – There was unexpected drama when the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress Bola Ahmed Tinubu arrived at the polling centre in Alausa Ikeja to cast his ballot in the ongoing general elections today. Flanked by his wife, Oluremi , they arrived a little past 10am.
Earlier, journalists monitoring the election had sighted the same Oluremi on a queue at a Polling Station in Surulere, prompting some to conclude that after casting her ballot at Surulere, she was quickly chauffeured to Ikeja to join her spouse because the next time they saw Oluremi, she was by BAT’s side at Alausa. The pair made their way laboriously through a crush of people. In his trademark traditional cap and a deep blue kaftan, Tinubu rested his left hand on the table for support for some minutes.
The pressing crowd obviously made voting pretty difficult for the presidential candidate as he urged them to move back and stay calm. By the time he finally got his way with the crowd, there was yet another problem. The plastic cubicle that ought to give him privacy collapsed many times before Tinubu voted at last.
Compared to the ballot cast by his opponent Atiku Abubakar of Peoples Democratic Party, Tinubu’s took some time to complete. While Atiku was done with voting and speaking with the press in less than three minutes, Tinubu’s exercise certainly took more.
In a post-voting speech, Tinubu said: “I wasn’t there when they started” (meaning INEC officials in the said polling booth)
“I met them when they had already started and the adoption and commitment to democracy and the democratic process was completed.”
Responding to a question from a journalist, the presidential candidate asked the reporter: “Are you contesting?”
Generally, Tinubu gave kudos to the INEC officials. “I am happy with them, I am very confident about what they are doing.”
