—onathan concedes defeat, urges PDP to unite for future polls
—Tambuwal, Onu, others hail victory
By Emeka Nze, Bode Olagoke, Abdullahi M. Gulloma, Abuja
Wild jubilation broke out across the country yesterday when it emerged that General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) has won the presidential election held on Saturday.
His party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), won in 21 states, leaving President Goodluck Jonathan and his ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) trailing with 15 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Yesterday’s result, presented by collation officers from the states, indicated that the APC coasted to victory in Bauchi, Adamawa, Yobe, Sokoto and Benue states.
Others were Lagos, Kebbi, Zamfara, Gombe, Niger and Borno.
The states won by Buhari earlier on Monday included Jigawa, Katsina, Kano, Kwara, Kaduna, and Kogi in the north, as well as the South-west states of Osun, Oyo, Ogun and Ondo.
Also, the Monday results, collated at the national collation centre in Abuja, indicated that Buhari was leading in 10 states, while Jonathan got eight states and the FCT.
The PDP had earlier won in Akwa Ibom, Imo, Anambra, Abia, Nasarawa, Enugu, Ekiti, Plateau and the FCT.
Meanwhile, President Jonathan last night expressed best wishes to his APC challenger.
In a statement issued after the announcement of the results of the presidential polls by the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, the president commended Nigerians for the peaceful conduct of the elections.
He also called on members of the PDP to remain resolute and united for future political engagements.
Jonathan said: “I congratulate all Nigerians for successfully going through the process of the March 28th General Elections with the commendable enthusiasm and commitment that was demonstrated nationwide.
“I also commend the security services for their role in ensuring that the elections were mostly peaceful and violence-free.
“To my colleagues in the PDP, I thank you for your support.
“Today, the PDP should be celebrating rather than mourning. We have established a legacy of democratic freedom, transparency, economic growth and free and fair elections.
“For the past 16 years, we have steered the country away from ethnic and regional politics. We created a pan-Nigerian political party and brought home to our people the realities of economic development and social transformation.
“Through patriotism and diligence, we have built the biggest and most patriotic party in Nigerian history. We must stand together as a party and look to the future with renewed optimism.”
He admitted that the elections were free, fair and credible in line with his promise, stressing that the present administration has expanded the space for Nigerians to participate in the country’s democratic process.
The president also called on aggrieved politicians to follow due process based on the constitution and the electoral law in seeking redress on the conduct of the general elections.
“As I have always affirmed, nobody’s ambition is worth the blood of any Nigerian,” he said, adding that the unity, stability and progress of the country are more important than anything else.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives and Sokoto state governorship candidate of the APC, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, in a reaction, said the country had been thrown into a thanksgiving mood following the landslide victory of his party at the presidential election.
Tambuwal said: “The mood is of thanksgiving to God and of course we are all happy with what is happening in the country.”
On his part, another chieftain of the party, Chief Ogbonnaya Onu, assured that the APC would show Nigerians that most of the problems that had remained intractable would be solved following the victory.
Onu said: “We all knew that Nigerians wanted change and we are happy that the change has come. For the party, we feel happy that Nigerians have accepted us and are giving us the opportunity to govern and we are going to show Nigerians that many of the problems that have remained intractable will be solved.
“You know I was the chairman of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and I feel very happy that the seed we sowed has germinated and has today grown to a big tree.”
Also speaking, a former governor of Bayelsa state, Mr. Timipriye Sylva, said the victory signified a positive change for the country.
He said: “It has been a hard won victory as you know. They tried everything to subvert the victory, but God Almighty has granted us victory and we are happy.
“You can see very clearly that democracy is maturing and coming of age in Nigeria. In spite of what they tried to do to subvert democracy, in spite of what they did to muzzle a lot of people in the South-south and the South-east, democracy emerged triumphantly, which is the most important thing today.
“We built a national party around the General and, of course, it was that party that delivered him. This is not a sectional party, but a party that cuts across the country.
“It is a national government that is going to be formed because it was a national victory.”
