As INEC Releases Results of 18 States, FCT, Buhari in Clear Lead
W ith the results of 18 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) declared, Major General Muhammadu Buhari of the
All Progressives Congress (APC) was in a clear lead over incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday evening.
The formal declaration of the remaining results continues at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, according to the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega.
But the PDP and the APC complained of electoral malpractice in some states where they lost.
With the declared result, General Buhari won in 10 states with about 12 million votes, while President Jonathan led in eight and the FCT, garnering about 10 million.
While Jonathan has scored the required 25 percent votes in 15 states, Buhari secured it in13.
There could still be a reversal of fortunes when the votes of some key southern states are announced on Tuesday.
The states that were declared on Monday, and which were won by the APC were Ogun Kogi, Osun, Ondo, Oyo, Kano, Jigawa, Katsina, Kwara and Kaduna. Those won by the PDP were Ekiti, Enugu, FCT, Nasarawa, Anambra, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Imo and Plateau.
In result, the PDP won in the following states; Ekiti, Enugu, FCT, Nasarawa, Abia, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Plateau and Imo.
On its part, the APC won the following; Ogun, Kogi, Osun, Ondo, Oyo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kwara.
In the FCT, while the PDP had 157,195, the APC polled 146,399. In Ondo state, PDP garnered 251,368 to APC’s 299, 889.
The others are Osun (PDP 249,929, APC, 383,603), Kogi (PDP 149, 987, APC, 264,851), Enugu (PDP 553, 003, APC 14,157) and Ogun (PDP 207,950, APC 308,290).
It also includes Ekiti (PDP 176,466, APC 120,331), Oyo (PDP 303, 376, APC 528, 620), Nasarawa, PDP (273, 460 APC 236, 838), Abia (PDP 368, 303, APC 13, 394), Anambra (PDP 660, 762, APC 17, 926), Jigawa (PDP 142, 904, APC 882, 988).
The rest are Kaduna (APC 1, 127, 760, PDP 484, 085), Kano (APC 1, 903, 999, PDP 215, 779), Katsina (APC 1, 345, 441, PDP 98, 937), Kwara (PDP 132, 602, APC garnered 302, 146), Akwa Ibom (APC 58, 411, PDP 953, 304), and Imo (APC 133, 253, PDP 559, 185).
However, the PDP has written a petition to INEC seeking the cancellation of the results of seven states over what it termed electoral malpractices.
Addressing journalists Monday in Abuja, the Deputy National Chairman of ruling party, Prince Uche Secondus gave the seven states as Kano, Jigawa, Kaduna, Gombe, Bauchi, Katsina and Kogi.
He added that the demand was based on concrete facts collated by field agents of the PDP.
Secondus said that the petition was sent to INEC through its Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) in the affected states.
Secondus who alleged that in the seven states, under aged were allowed to vote in contravention of the Electoral Act, also alleged that voting took place late in the night in those states.
He stated: “In Kano and some of these states in the North, majority of voters were under-aged.
Voting also took place in the night and you know that in the night rigging can take place.
“We have completed our reports from Kano state chapter.”
Secondus maintained that the alleged malpractice was perpetrated in connivance with the officials of INEC .
He said: “We want to put the entire world on notice the evil plans of the main opposition, the All Progressive Congress, APC, in their clandestine meetings of releasing unauthorised election results by the INEC to the members of the public.
“The sole aim of this is to be misleading Nigerians and the international Community through their propaganda machinery. We believe in the rule of law and the electoral law as amended.
“As we speak, our state chapters have submitted their petitions to the state Resident Electoral Commissioners and their on their way to Abuja to submit similar ones at the Commission’s Headquarters to its Chairman, Professor Jega because we are being guided by law.
“In kano State, specifically, we are all aware that voters turned out en masse to vote but regrettably, majority of them turned out to be under aged voters. We have evidence. Voting also took place at night for rigging, Our state chapter has already petitioned the REC about all these malpractices”.
“In Gombe,similar thing happened. There were insurgency attacks on voters and electoral officers and people ran away for their lives but at the end of the day results were procured in favour of the APC,”
“Similar scenario played out in other states mentioned earlier. In view of this, we are calling for the total cancellation of the Presidential election results in the seven states”, he declared.
In Rivers State, Jonathan is believed to have won a massive 95 percent of the vote.
