—- Accept results, Catholic bishops tell candidates
By Emeka Nze, Ameh Ejekwuonyilo and John Oba, Abuja
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has taken a convenient lead in the 2015 presidential election going by the results announced last night by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
This translates into the party’s presidential candidate, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), mulling a comfortable victory.
Chairman of INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, supervised the collation and announcement of the results of the poll from the various states at a well-attended session in Abuja.
The result from each state was announced by the state’s Resident Electoral Commissioner in front of a large gathering of journalists and other stakeholders.
Two sessions were conducted, the last ending at 10:30 p.m.
Out of the 18 states and the Federal capital Territory (FCT) results released, the APC is leading with 10 states, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) clinched eight states and the FCT.
Details showed that as at last night, the APC was leading in Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Oyo, Kogi, Kano, Jigawa, Katsina Kwara and Kaduna.
The PDP, the results also showed, was leading in Ekiti, Enugu, Nasarawa, Anambra, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Imo, Plateau and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
The figures showed that Buhari was leading in the poll with three million votes, making it 57% of the total tally so far announced.
Even though it is too early to point at a clear winner, Buhari’s lead, as well as the unfolding permutations on the strength of each candidate in the 18 states whose results have not been announced, suggests a victory for him over incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan.
The collation and announcement of the results shall resume at 10 a.m. today in Abuja. It is expected that a definite winner of the election will be announced by INEC today.
Meanwhile, as tension continues to trail the outcome of the elections, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has called on contestants and Nigerians to accept the outcome of the results.
The group, in a statement issued by the Bishop of Umuahia and chairman of Church and Society, Bishop Lucius Ugorji, and Archbishop of Jos and President, Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, Archbishop Ignatius A. Kaigama, yesterday, urged both the PDP and the APC to make no recourse to violence as it would be unacceptable.
It said: “They should enjoin their followers to keep the peace. This is the only country we have and it is everybody’s task to keep it as one. We enjoin the security forces to be at alert and contain any post-election violence, and to be holistic in their approach to security by ensuring that in their attempt to prevent post-election violence, they do not leave the space open for sustained renewed attacks by Boko Haram. Boko Haram is still a serious threat to the peace and security of our land and its people.”
The CBCN called on the INEC chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega, to investigate what happened in different polling stations where there were shortcomings in order not to rubbish the good works he had put into building the credibility of INEC.
It said: “We hope that there will be significant improvement in the next election and some culprits would be brought to book as a deterrent to others. We were hoping that the use of smart card readers would render useless ballot stuffing and ballot box snatching.”
S/NO STATE APC PDP
1. Ekiti 120,331 176,446
2. Ogun 308,290 207,950
3. Enugu 14,157 553,003
4. Osun 383,603 249,922
5. Ondo 299,387 251,368
6. FCT 146,399 157,195
7. Oyo 528,620 303,376
8. Nasarawa 263,835 273,460
9. Kogi 264,851 148,987
10. Kano 1,903,999 215,779
11. Jigawa 885,988 142,904
12. Katsina 1,345,441 98,937
13. Kwara 302,146 132,602
14. Kaduna 1,127,760 484,085
15. Anambra 17,926 660,762
16. Abia 13,394 368,303
17. Akwa Ibom 58,411 953,304
18. Imo 133,253 559,185
19. Plateau 429,140 549,614