Yakubu Maikyau, president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), praises the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for their excellent performance in conducting the recently concluded presidential and national assembly elections.
During an interview on Channels TV on Saturday, Maikyau stated that INEC performed commendably in delivering the elections despite facing several challenges. “I will say that the elections went well. Those who came out were happy to express their franchise,” Maikyau said. He continued, “there were challenges, definitely. There were some infractions, some of them actually constituted electoral offences but on the whole, I will score INEC as having performed maybe about 78, 80 percent in the delivery of these elections. That will be an A for every exam. Notwithstanding, all the things that happened which we are not ignoring. That is why we are admonishing and advising INEC and recommending to INEC that in those areas where we saw lapses in the election held on the 25th February 2023, deliberate efforts must be taken to make sure that those lapses did not occur again in the elections that are coming up on the 11th March because when these lapses happened, it impacted on the confidence of the public in the process,” he said.
The US government has released a press statement congratulating the president-elect Bola Tinubu after he was declared winner of the 2023 elections. After congratulating Tinubu, the US government urged INEC to correct every error in the election results ahead of the Gubernatorial elections slated on March 11. The statement reads; We understand that many Nigerians and some of the parties have expressed frustration about the manner in which the process was conducted and the shortcomings of technical elements that were used for the first time in a presidential election cycle. Nigerians are clearly within their rights to have such concerns and should have high expectations for their electoral processes. We join other international observers in urging INEC to improve in the areas that need the most attention ahead of the March 11 gubernatorial elections. There are well-established mechanisms in place for the adjudication of electoral disputes, and we encourage any candidate or party seeking to challenge the outcome to pursue redress through those mechanisms. We call on all parties, candidates, and supporters to refrain from violence or inflammatory rhetoric at this critical time. We commend the active participation of civil society and the media in advancing electoral norms and political discourse on issues of importance to citizens. We note with concern reports that numerous members of the media were attacked during the course of the election, and we urge the government, security forces, political actors, and all citizens to respect the media’s critical role by refraining from any damaging acts against them and ensuring accountability for such acts when they do occur. We also congratulate the Nigerian people, especially the large number of youths who are relatively new to the political process, for demonstrating their strong commitment to democracy.” 
Earlier today, 1st of March, 2023, Bola Ahmed Tinubu was declared the winner of the 2023 presidential election. While the President-elect celebrates his victory, other members of the public have also joined in to rejoice with him. The Nollywood thespian took to her social media page, where she highlighted the factors that contributed to Tinubu’s win. According to Liz, her mentor, Tinubu won because of his love for work, as well as youth and elders. 
Recall that during the elections on the 25th, actress Chioma Akpotha took to her Instagram page to share a video of how some thugs disrupted the elections and attacked voters at her polling unit. It seems the incident affected the health of Chioma as Omoni Oboli was forced to spend the night with her in order to keep an eye on her. Speaking about the health of Chioma, Omoni Oboli said she was shaken but not defeated. In a post, Omoni Oboli wrote; “Spent the night with my one true love. My sister’s friend @chiomakpotha. My hero! One of the strongest women I know. She’s ok guys. I know y’all have been worried. Shaken but not defeated. You fought for all of us! You have always been for the good of the people! Posterity will forever be kind to you and your children Nkem. We will NEVER forget! I want to say thank you all for your love and support. I made her laugh small. She will be alright 🙏🏾 Love you all.” 
A lot of congratulatory messages came through for the billionaire politician, Ned Nwoko after he secured his senatorial seat in Delta state after the elections. In the wake of the celebrations after the elections, the Moroccan wife of Ned Nwoko, Laila Charani congratulated him and cheered him for his hard work while thanking those who supported and voted for her husband. Laila wrote on her page; “I want to use this medium to appreciate all who worked tirelessly with my husband, Prince Ned Munir Nwoko. A big hug and appreciation to all those who trust his leadership and positive influence in Anioma Delta and the society at large. It’s not a day’s victory; we will continue to celebrate this victory and work towards a better Nigeria. Congratulations to my munir ❤️. Congratulations to the people of Anioma Delta! Videos by @drachibrand”. 
Burna pressed on to share some reactions from his followers who ridiculed his justifications. A social media user rubbished him for not pointing out a party for his fans to support. “If it is who will show you who to vote for ur looking for, please look up to someone else,” he wrote in response. 
This was disclosed by the commission’s Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, while speaking with journalists in Abuja on Friday, February 25, 2023. “I just want to say that we will ensure that result declaration will be done speedily. I can’t put a finger on the number of days or number of hours it will take but it will be done speedily. “We are aware of the anxiety and the need for us to conclude the process quickly. It will be concluded quickly,” Mahmood said. The INEC Chairman commented on how the current cash crunch in the country would impact the elections, noting that not all of the commission’s operations were funded with cash from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). He mentioned that a significant portion of procurement for goods and services was conducted electronically. “But we need a small amount of money to pay for the unbanked who render critical services, particularly at the local level. “We anticipated this challenge and interacted with the Central Bank; they promised us that the little amount we need to pay for services in cash, they will make the funds available to us and they have done so. “And these funds have already been accessed by our state offices for elections, which is why the movement of personnel and materials in the last couple of days has gone on unhindered. “So, I must give credit for our relationship with the Central Bank in that regard. The process won’t suffer any encumbrance as a result,” the INEC boss added.