(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Nigeria's former military leader Muhammadu Buhari (pictured) claimed a historic election victory in Africa's most populous country yesterday, sending thousands of jubilant supporters into the streets chanting "change, change".
Buhari's campaign spokesman said incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan had called the retired general to concede defeat in the most closely fought election in Nigeria's history.
If confirmed, this would be the first ever democratic change of power in Nigeria and cap a remarkable comeback for the 72-year-old, who headed a short-lived military regime in the 1980s.
With just one state to declare, Buhari is virtually guaranteed victory. Thousands of jubilant Buhari supporters poured into the streets in celebration, many in northern Nigeria which has borne the brunt of the bloody six-year Boko Haram uprising.
Many brandished brooms to symbolise his promise to clean up corruption in the oil-rich country of 173 million people.
"President Jonathan called at 5:15 (1615 GMT)," his campaign spokesman Shehu Garba said. Asked if Jonathan conceded, he said: "Yes, and General Buhari has accepted and thanks him for this."
There was no immediate comment from Jonathan, his spokesman or the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP), but Buhari's wife Aisha took to Twitter to celebrate. "We see this as a trimphant show of democracy, a change for the better," she wrote.
Buhari had said that he was "very confident" of victory as counting of votes showed him pulling well ahead of Jonathan. With 36 out of 37 results in, his All Progressives Congress (APC) had won 20 states, while Jonathan's PDP was on 15, plus the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja. The final result is awaited from Borno state, the heart of the Boko Haram Islamist insurgency.
"Change, change," chanted opposition supporters in the northern city of Kaduna.
In Kano, some young men donned black fedoras - which his rival Jonathan is rarely seen without - and put suitcases on their heads to mock the president as people chanted "Out of Aso Rock" (the presidential villa). Buhari won a landslide victory in Kano, Nigeria's second most-populous state, securing more than 1.9 million votes and 89 percent of the vote.
"This is the first time the opposition has voted a government out of power in Nigeria's history," said APC spokesman Lai Mohammed. Buhari was more than 2.75 million votes ahead of 57-year-old Jonathan, after winning in the northern states of Yobe and Adamawa.
The retired army general won the key prize of Lagos in the southwest but at one point his lead was cut to 500,000 votes after landslide victories for Jonathan in his southern Delta homeland.
Buhari, making his fourth run at the presidency, has been buoyed by frustration over endemic corruption, criticism over Jonathan's handling of the Boko Haram insurgency and a stronger opposition.
There was a brief protest by Jonathan's PDP before the count resumed yesterday. Former Niger Delta minister Godsday Orubebe accused elections chief Attahiru Jega of being "partial" and "selective". Orubebe claimed Jega had refused to investigate PDP complaints about big wins by Buhari in northern states but had launched a probe into claims by the APC of irregularities in Rivers.
Jega said later: "I don't believe that the allegations are substantial enough to require the cancellation or rescheduling of the elections in Rivers state. We will take the results." International observers gave broadly positive reactions to the conduct of the vote, despite late delivery of election materials and technical glitches with new voter authentication devices.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.