After fighting military rule in the 1990s, Bola Tinubu feels entitled to become Nigeria's president.

Bola Tinubu, 70, is declared the winner of Nigeria's election despite opposition calls for a rerun.

Akinyemi Akinrujomu
BBC News Yoruba editor, Lagos

The declaration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the candidate for the governing APC party, as winner of Nigeria’s presidential election was greeted by wild jubilation in his strongholds in the south-west.

The BBC’s reporters witnessed first-hand celebratory marches and cavorting in the streets of Ondo, Ekiti and Osun states.

Ondo and Ekiti states were won overwhelming by Mr Tinubu.

In Ondo, road transport workers celebrated the former Lagos state governor’s victory in a popular bus terminal, dancing and making merry for some hours.

His supporters in Ekiti danced to the beats of a live band as they marched to the state governor’s office. Governor Biodun Oyebanji, an APC member, came out to receive and congratulate them on Mr Tinubu’s victory.

The south-western state of Osun state was actually won by a slim margin by Atiku Abubakar, the PDP candidate.

But for the nearly half of voters in support of Mr Tinubu, it was a time for celebration. Traditional drummers lined the streets beating their drums for excited dancers.

Nigeria’s president-elect Bola Tinubu has officially received his winner’s certificate at a ceremony in the capital, Abuja.

Supporters cheered, danced and shouted slogans as a beaming Mr Tinubu, wearing a white agbada - a flowing robe - and a red cap, held the certificate aloft. The moment has been shared on Twitter:

While celebrations have also broken out in his south-western support base, in the commercial city of Lagos, where opposition Labour Party Peter Obi trounced Mr Bola won by a slim margin, things were a little more muted.

Some celebrated into the early hours, but the usually busy streets of Lagos are mostly deserted on Wednesday morning, some businesses remain closed.

Outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari congratulated Mr Tinubu, who was the ruling party’s candidate. He also appealed for calm and respect for the outcome of the election.

In remarks before the ceremony, Mr Tinubu also echoed this message.

On Tuesday, the main opposition parties dismissed the poll as a sham, and demanded a rerun.

Mr Tinubu got 37% of the vote, his main rival Atiku Abubakar, of the PDP, polled 29%, and Labour's Peter Obi 25%, according to the official results.

Mary Harper
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Nigeria's opposition Labour Party is to mount a legal challenge against the presidential election victory of Bola Tinubu of the governing APC.

Labour's Peter Obi came third in Saturday's vote.

The opposition says the results were rigged; it is calling for fresh polls.

Just 28% of eligible Nigerian voters took part. Some could not cast their ballot because of malfunctioning machines.

Mr Tinubu won a 37% share of the votes, a lower margin of victory than previous Nigerian presidents.

European Union election observers said there had been significant shortcomings in the electoral process, adding there had been vote-buying but it was too early say how widespread this was.

Chris Ewokor
BBC News, Awka, Anambra state

Image source, AFP

The main city of Awka in Nigeria’s south-eastern Anambra state is quiet. This is the stronghold for Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate who came third in the presidential election with 25%.

People are going about their normal daily activities in the state where Mr Obi, a wealthy businessman has served two terms as governor.

But underneath the façade there is anger about the outcome of last Saturday’s election.

Many people l have spoken to say they feel bitter and frustrated - like they have been robbed of their votes by the electoral commission and what they regard as a fraudulent electoral process.

It was cheers and high-fives as Bola Tinubu watched on television while being pronounced the winner of Nigeria's presidential election.

The 70-year-old veteran politician secured a decisive win - with about two million votes more than his nearest rival.

He has called for reconciliation with his opponents.

A video is being shared on social media that shows how he rejoiced with supporters at his home in the capital, Abuja, as he was declared the president-elect:

Image source, Twitter / Muhammadu Buhari

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated president-elect Bola Tinubu, saying he is the best man for the job.

"I shall now work with him and his team to ensure an orderly handover of power," the president said in a statement.

Mr Tinubu's win has been disputed by opposition parties, who have demanded a rerun.

President Buhari is stepping down after two terms in office.

He acknowledged challenges in the voting procedure, but said there was no doubt to the "freeness and fairness of the elections".

"If they [opposition parties] feel the need to challenge, please take it to the courts, not to the streets," he said.

Nigeria ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party has thanked Nigerians for electing its presidential candidate Bola Tinubu, although opposition parties have disputed the election results.

The 70-year-old veteran politician got 8,794,726 votes - 37% of votes counted - according to official results..

The elections were Nigeria’s most hotly contested since the reintroduction of multiparty democracy in 1999.

"Thank you Nigerians for electing Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President Elect of Nigeria," the ruling party tweeted.

Opposition parties have described the election as a sham.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party said results had been manipulated, and they wanted a new election to be organised.

The electoral commission said they should take their complaints to court.

Opposition parties condemn the election as a sham as Bola Tinubu wins 36% of the vote.

We're pausing our coverage of the results coming in from Nigeria's tightly contested presidential elections.

The electoral commission is taking a two-hour break, having announced the results of 14 states and the capital, Abuja, on Tuesday afternoon. It is expected to announce at least another two results later on this evening.

We'll be back on Wednesday morning, but you can follow the latest results - and all the drama around the election - on our website and dedicated results page.

Here are the main points from the results released so far:

• The governing APC party's candidate, Bola Tinubu, has a lead of about 1.5 million votes
• He has 39% of votes counted so far, while Atiku Abubakar of the PDP has 31%, followed by Labour's Peter Obi with 20%
• Their parties have called for the election to be cancelled, describing it as a sham
• They have been critical of the Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) and its handling of the electronic voting system
• Inec has said complaints should be taken to court once all the results are in
• Rival protests have taken place outside the commission's headquarters, one accusing it of fraud, the other praising its integrity
• There are 36 states plus the capital, Abuja - a candidate needs 25% of votes in two-thirds of these to win, as well as having the most votes.

Nigeria’s opposition PDP candidate Atiku Abukar has gained the majority of votes in Nigeria’s north-western state of Sokoto, according to official results.

He got 288,679, but the APC’s Bola Tinubu, candidate for the governing party, was not far behind, picking up 285,444 votes.

The Labour Party’s Peter Obi trailed way behind the majority Muslim state with 6,568 votes.

One of the outlier presidential candidates in Nigeria's election has won close to a million votes in the northern vote-rich Kano state, according to official results.

Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of the NNPP got 997,279 votes, upsetting Bola Tinubu of the APC (517,341) and Atiku Abubakar of the PDP (131,716) in the majority Muslim-state.

Peter Obi of the Labour Party got 28,513 ballots.

Mr Kwankwaso, 66, is a former defence minister, former senator and served two-terms as governor of Kano, one of Nigeria's most-populous states.

He is rarely seen without his red cap. It is a symbol of his ambition and his achievements.

Read more: Who is Rabiu Kwankwaso of the NNPP?

Nigeria’s ruling party candidate has won a comfortable majority in the presidential election in Zamfara, the north-western state of Zamfara.

Bola Tinubu of the APC got 298,396 votes with Atiku Abubakar of the PDP taking 193,978.

The mainly Muslim state is among several grappling an epidemic of kidnapping for ransom.

The Labour Party’s Peter Obi failed to secure many votes, only getting 1,660, trailing behind former Kano governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, presidential candidate of the NNPP, who got 4,044.

Atiku Abubakar has beaten Nigeria's ruling APC party's candidate Bola Tinubu in the north-western state of Kebbi, according to results announced by the electoral commission.

The PDP presidential candidate got 285,175 votes compared to Mr Tinubu's 248,088.

Labour Party's Peter Obi secured 10,682 ballots.

There are 36 states plus the capital Abuja - in order to win in the first round a candidate needs 25% of votes in at least 25 of these, as well as having the most votes nationwide.

Nigeria's vote-rich Kaduna state has gifted the three main presidential candidates many votes, with the most going to opposition PDP's Atiku Abubakar.

The two-term former vice-president got 554,360 votes, according to results announced by the electoral commission.

The northern state, which has large Christian and Muslim communities, gave 399,293 votes to the ruling APC party's Bola Tinubu.

The Labour Party's Peter Obi, whose party lacks the the networks enjoyed by the other two main parties, got 294,494.

The southern oil-rich state of Bayelsa has been won by Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate for the opposition PDP, according to official results released by the Nigerian electoral commission.

Voting in some areas of the state were delayed until Sunday because of logistical problems on Saturday when the rest of the country voted.

Mr Abubakar got 68,818 votes, ahead of Labour Party candidate Peter Obi, who got 49,975, and Bola Tinubu of the ruling APC with 42,672.

Atiku Abubakar has trounced rivals in the north-eastern state of Bauchi, garnering 426,607, according to official results.

The ruling party candidate Bola Tinubu also made a strong showing, he got 316,694.

Peter Obi of Labour party came a distant fourth with 27,373, behind NNPP's Rabiu Kwankwaso, who got 72,103.

Peter Obi of Nigeria’s opposition Labour Party has won Nigeria's central state of Plateau with 466,272 votes.

The state, which is at the crossroads between the country’s predominantly Muslim north and the largely Christian south, had more than one million accredited voters, officials results show.

APC candidate Bola Tinubu got 307,195 votes with Atiku Abubakar of the opposition PDP coming third with 243,808.

Bola Tinubu of the governing APC party has won the central state of Kogi, garnering 240,751 votes, according to Nigeria's electoral commission.

It is a comfortable victory over Atiku Abubakar of opposition PDP, who came second with 145,104 votes.

Peter Obi of Labour Party registered 56,217 ballots.