The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the wee hours of this morning declared Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of the country’s presidential ballot held over weekend.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, made the declaration at about 3:15 a.m. at the Africa Hall of the International Conference Centre, Abuja, which served as the National Collation Centre. He said that Buhari beat incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with a total of 15,424,921 votes as against Jonathan’s 12,853,162 votes.

Jega said that Buhari beat Jonathan by 2,571,759 votes, and won in 22 states of the federation, obtaining 25 per cent of the votes cast in 27 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) while Jonathan obtained 25 per cent of votes cast in 26 states and FCT. “Having satisfied the provisions of the law and having scored the highest number of votes cast, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari stands elected as President,” the INEC Chairman declared.

Buhari won 53.96 per cent of the total valid votes cast in the elections, clearing all seven states of the North-West geo-political zone comprising Kano, Jigawa, Katsina, Kaduna, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara, and in Benue, Kogi, Kwara and Niger in North-Central.

In the North-East, he won majority votes in Gombe, Adamawa, Bauchi, Yobe, and Borno, in addition to Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Oyo and Lagos in the South-West.

Jonathan swept all the states in the South-East comprising Enugu, Anambra, Abia, Ebonyi and Imo and the South-South states of Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Cross Rivers, Edo, Delta and Rivers.

He also clinched the majority ballots in Ekiti in the South-West, Taraba in the North-East, and Nasarawa, Plateau and FCT in the North-Central.

Candidates of the 12 other political parties that participated in the ballot settled for crumbs.

The confirmation of Buhari’s victory by INEC vindicated News Express, which early yesterday morning broke the story in a story entitled, ‘BUHARI MAKES HISTORY •How he defeated Jonathan in presidential election’.

This is the first time that an opposition party is winning a presidential election in Nigeria. Buhari, the country’s military ruler from January 1, 1984 to August 14, 1985, is expected to take over from Jonathan on May 29, 2015.

•Photo shows Buhari.

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