Nigeria: Buhari beats Jonathan with 2.571m Votes

 The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, Wednesday morning declared the Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Gen. Muhammadu Buhari as the winner of the 2015 Presidential Election. Buhari polled 15, 424, 921 to emerge top ahead of his main rival President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (12, 853, 162).
The number of accredited voters for the March 28, Presidential Election was 31, 746,490.
Although the total votes cast were 29,432, 083, the difference between Buhari’s votes and Jonathan’s was 2, 571,759.
While the valid votes amounted to 28,587,564, the number of rejected votes was 844, 519.
The victory of Buhari re-wrote the electoral history of the nation in five ways:
•       the first time in the history of Nigeria that an incumbent President will be defeated;
•       the first time a party in power for 16 years will be voted out of government by Nigerians in preference for the opposition party;
•       the first time a merged party will win election at the centre since 1962 when the opposition had been forming coalition to rule the country;
•        the first time a candidate who had contested and failed three times will win at the fourth attempt;
•       the first time a Septuagenarian will be elected Nigeria’s President like the case in Senegal; the US and others.
Jega, who made the declaration after the collation of results at the National Collation Centre at the International Conference Centre in Abuja, said Buhari has met the requirements in Section 134(2) of the 1999 Constitution to be elected as the President of Nigeria.
The constitutional requirements are winning a simple majority of the total votes cast and 25 per cent of the votes in at least 24 states of the Federation during the presidential election.
Section 134 of the 1999 Constitution says: “A candidate for an election to the Office of the President shall be deemed to have been duly elected where there being more than two candidates for the election (a) he has the highest number of votes cast at the election; and (b) he has not less than one-quarter of the votes cast at the election in each of at least two-thirds of all the states in the Federation and the Federal capital Territory.”
He gave the breakdown of the performance of the 14 parties that participated in the presidential poll as follows:
•       AA—-Tunde Kelani—–22,125
•       ACPN—-Ganiyu Galadima—-40,311
•       AD— Rafiu Salahu—-30,673
•       ADC— Dr. Mani Ibrahim Ahmed——-29, 666
•       APA—-Ayeni Musa Adebayo—–53, 537
•       APC——Muhammadu Buhari——15, 424, 921
•       CPP—Sam Eke——-36, 300
•       Hope——Ambrose N.A . Owuru—7, 435
•       KOWA——Comfort Oluremi Sonaiya—-13, 076
•       NCP—–Martin Onovo——24, 455
•       PDP—–President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan——12, 853, 162
•       PPN—–Allagoa Kelvin Chinedu—–24, 475
•       UDP—- Godson B. Okoye——-9, 208
•       UPP—–Chekwas  Okorie——–18, 220
Bedecked in white Babanriga and flanked by National Commissioners, Jega, who began the announcement of results at exactly 2.47am, said: “Before I announced the results, I will like to express our gratitude to all Nigerians for the opportunity to serve this country.
“We also commend all Nigerians for coming out in large number during the election. I also express our appreciation to our staff, both permanent and ad hoc, who worked tirelessly for the success of the poll, especially the young members of the National Youth Service Corps who added value.”
After the signing of the results by all parties except the PDP, Jega declared Buhari as the winner of the election.
The agent of the PDP, Dr. Bello Fadile, who merely shook Jega’s hand, said he had “no instruction to sign the result sheet.”
He said: “By the powers conferred on me by the Constitution and the Electoral Act, I hereby certified that I was a Returning Officer for the election held on the 28th of March 2015.
“That the election was conducted and that the candidates received the following votes.
“That Gen. Muhammadu Buhari of APC, having satisfied the requirements of the law and scored the highest number of votes cast, is hereby declared the winner and is returned  elected.”
Responding to a question, Jega said “while Buhari has spread in 27 states, the candidate of the PDP has the spread in 26 states.
“The canddates are expected to score 25 per cent of the total votes cast in two-thirds of the Federation.”