NAIJALINKSDIASPORA.BLOGSPOT.COM: 03/31/15

Tuesday, 31 March 2015

Jonathan Congratulates Buhari On The Phone

As Nigeria expects the presidential election results from Borno state, it is reported that Goodluck Jonathan has congratulated Muhammadu Buhari.

According to Vanguard, the president called his major challenger, the opposition candidate, to congratulate him.

A source disclosed that Jonathan, the Peoples Democratic Party, first spoke with Buhari on the phone and then with the APC national leader Bola Tinubu.

See the photos from GMB’s Facebook page going under the caption: “Muhammadu Buhari receiving a call from President Goodluck Jonathan congratulating him on his victory in the elections.”

Jonathan Congratulates Buhari On The Phone

Leadership adds that Jonathan assured Buhari of maximum cooperation and smooth transition.

Meanwhile the Independent National Electoral Commission has announced a break till 8pm. By that time the results from Borno state are expected to arrive.

As for the current situation, the preliminary numbers estimated by Naij.com team are as follows:
Muhammadu Buhari – 14,951,378 (51.70%), Goodluck Jonathan – 12,827,522 (44.36%).

[UPDATED] Visualisation of Presidential results in 35 states, FCT

Remi & Jonathan, Lagos:

Credits: Remi & Jonathan, Lagos. APC – GREEN, PDP – RED

THE PUNCH NEWSPAPER

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION RESULTS CURRENT STANDINGS (UPDATED -31/03/2015, 5.53pm)

Following the ongoing collation of election results, the current standings for the two major political giants vying for the seat of the president, the Federal Republic of Nigeria is as represented below:

Source: National Collation Center and Channels TV

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APC Tells Supporters Across The Country What To Do

Following the brewing tension as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) continued the announcement of the elections result, the major opposition party, All Progressive Congress has told its mammoth supporters what to do.

National Secreatry of the APC, Lai Mohammed

The opposition party gave the instruction in a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, a copy obtained by Vanguard.

The party in the statement appealed to all its members and supporters across the country to remain calm and peaceful, and to resist all acts of provocation as they await the results of the presidential elections.

APC which acknowledged that the post-election moment, when all Nigerians are eagerly awaiting the results of the elections, is a tense moment for the country therefore urged its members not to do anything that would disturb the peace or cause disunity.

“We must begin the very critical process of healing all the wounds inflicted by the rancorous and divisive electioneering campaign, and rebuilding trust among our unprecedentedly-divided people,” the party said.

The party reminded all its unwavering members and supporters that the agents of disunity are on the prowl, ready to trigger trouble and destabilise the country, hence they must not play into the hands of such people.

“To all our members, supporters and indeed all Nigerians, we urge you to please remain calm and show equanimity if you must celebrate,” the party said.

However, tension has continued to mount as the Independent National Electoral Commission gets closer to the concluding the part of the collation and announcement of the presidential election results.

As the elections results were being announced on Monday, workers at the Lagos State Government Secretariat fled their offices following rumoured attack from thugs hired by politicians.

The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) had earlier accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ofconspiring with the army, police and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to rewrite the election results last Saturday polls.

Why Jega Refused To Cancel Rivers Election

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega on Monday, refused to cancel the polls in Rivers state.

He acknowledged receiving a petition from the All Progressive Congress (APC) on Sunday seeking the cancellation of the last Saturday’s election.

Speaking before the results for Rivers state was announced, Jega said: “Sunday morning, I received a petition from APC demanding for the cancellation & rescheduling of elections.

“’I circulated this memo to the Comm. We reviewed it and set up a 3 man Committee to Rivers and they returned this morning with their observations. There were a number of points as to why the Commission should cancel/reschedule elections.

1. No elections

2. No result sheets

3. Substitution of officials.

“We cannot establish any cancellation or substitution of results and we sent a list of collation officers to the state. Officials failed to show up to work for several reasons and it is up to the REC to substitute from the pool of officials they have.

“We do not believe the allegations are substantial enough to require the cancellation/rescheduling of the elections in Rivers.

“The decision of the Commission is that we will take the results of the elections in Rivers state.

“We have taken measures to make sure that re-occurrences do not occur in the future.”

Recall that the Rivers state governor, Rotimi Amaechi, had claimed that no elections were conducted in the state according to what he witnessed.

However, Dame Gesilia Khan, the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Rivers state, on Sunday night said elections held in the 23 local government areas of the state.

Yesterday, he imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew on Port Harcourt, the state capital, hours after the INEC announced the result of the presidential and National Assembly elections in the state.

READ MORE: http://www.naij.com/413229-why-jega-refused-to-cancel-rivers-election.html

Ayo Fayose Sings Buhari Praises

Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State has hailed the resilience and commitment of President Goodluck Jonathan and General Mohammadu Buhari (retd).

Ekiti governor, Ayo Fayose

In a statement released on Tuesday, Fayose, however, stopped short of congratulating the APC candidate for his likely victory in the poll, Punch reports.

Fayose’s statement by his Special Adviser on Communication and New Media, Lere Olayinka, reads,

“Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has urged Nigerians to accept the outcome of the Saturday presidential election in good faith, saying; ‘the election result is the will of God and Nigerians , and all lovers of peace, progress and development of Nigeria must accept it’.

The governor said the election results should not been seen as victory or loss for any political party, adding that ‘To me, Nigerians and democracy won’.

He praised Nigerians for believing in the democratic process, adding that ‘By this election, Nigerians have shown that Democracy has come to stay in the country’.

The governor said, ‘I salute Nigerians, especially the great people of Ekiti State. I salute President Jonathan for laying the most solid foundation for democracy in Nigeria. And I salute Major General Buhari for being a resilience and dogged fighter.

“I urge Nigerians, irrespective of their ethic, religious and political affiliation to respect the outcome of the election in the interest of peace, progress and development of the country.

“Nigeria as a country is greater than any individual or group and it is my plea that no one should do anything to rock the boat of peace in the country.”

The statement seems ironic as Fayose has been a vocal critic of Gen. Buhari and his presidential campaign. He released numerous adverts attacking the age,personality and ability of the retired General.

PDP Conspiring With Army, INEC To Rewrite Results - APGA

The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of conspiring with the army, police and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to rewrite the election results from last Saturday.

According to APGA, the PDP is plotting to announce a falsified result in their favour, Vanguard reports.

The accusation was made by a member of Board of Trustees, BoT of APGA, Chief Rommy Ezeonwuka.

He said the results announced yesterday by INEC which gave PDP victory in all the three senatorial zones and 11 House of Representatives seats, was exactly the opposite of what APGA scored during the exercise.

Ezeonwuka said: “These results credited to PDP, was what APGA scored in the election but the PDP bought over the Army, the Police and INEC to rewrite the result in favour of PDP and thereafter announced this falsified result.”

He stated that the party would go to the tribunal and other courts of competent jurisdiction to recover its stolen mandate.

However, the director general of Princess Stella Oduah’s campaign organisation, Chief Edwin Pandola Okwuosa, said Oduah’s victory over the APGA’s Dubem Obaze was a reflection of her general acceptability by the electorate in the zone.

Oduah, the PDP candidate for Anambra North senatorial zone, had scored a total of 143,478 votes against the APGA candidate who scored 70,906 votes.

Okwuosa commended the electorate for voting for the former aviation minister, assuring them that she would give them effective representation as contained in her manifestos.

The results for the presidential and national assembly elections which have been streaming in are already causing ripples as some political parties are challenging them.

The PDP has rejected results from seven states, Kano, Jigawa, Kaduna, Gombe, Bauchi, Katsina and Kogi, alleging electoral malpractices.

The Ogun state chapter of the APC has also rejected the results of the Ogun East Senatorial Districts and that of the two Federal Constituencies in Ijebu North, Ijebu East, and Ogun Waterside.

PDP To Challenge Buhari’s Win In Lagos

The Peoples Democratic Party has said it will challenge the results of the election in some local government areas in Lagos state.

Speaking to journalists at the end of the collation exercise in Lagos, Monday, Wahab Owokoniran, said that a lot of things went wrong during the election.

“Most of the card readers were not functioning. And the manual (accreditation) that was done much much later has really disenfranchised a lot of people,” Owokoniran said.

The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Muhammadu Buhari, polled 792,460 votes to defeat President Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP who got 632,327 votes.

Out of the 20 local government areas in the state, the PDP won only five – Surulere, Ajeromi-Ifelodun, Oshodi-Isolo, Amuwo Odofin, and Ojo.

The announcement of the results in Lagos began at around midnight on Sunday and was concluded by 8pm on Monday.

There was a protest outside the INEC state office on Monday as youths from Badagry came to register their displeasure at the outcome of the election in their area.

Also, during the announcement of the results, Owokoniran protested the outcome in Apapa local government where he said hoodlums hijacked the election result during collation.

“Eventually, I learnt that they came around the INEC office, probably outside to collate the figure and they brought it here. That was one of the reasons why I objected. If the thing was not properly collated at the collating centre, it makes it invalid,” Owokoniran said.

In addition to Badagry and Apapa local government areas, Owokoniran said they would also contest the results in Ikeja and Alimosho local councils where he said a lot of prospective voters were disenfranchised.

He submitted petitions to the INEC over their displeasure with the outcome of the election in some of the local governments.

“The smart card reader has caused a lot of problems and these are some of the things our party has been saying all along.

“We will go to the tribunal in some of these local governments.”

But Akin Orebiyi, the Lagos State resident electoral commissioner, said that card-reader malfunction was not limited to a particular local government or area in the state.

“Again, INEC regrets this and at the same time we also at the right time allowed manual accreditation which was also to all parties and not just one,” said Orebiyi.

“So to that extent, I don’t think a single party can now accuse INEC of undermining its fate at the expense of another.

We are going to look at the workings of the smart card readers, see where things had gone wrong, and look for ways to improve.”

On the issue of people protesting at the INEC office, Orebiyi said they ought to have channelled their complaints through the appropriate quarters.

“We need to understand the guidelines for the conduct of elections,” he said.

“If for example, in a polling unit, there was something untoward, it is at that polling unit you raise objection. And by the time we take the results from the ward, you can also object there so that that polling unit result will not be collated at the ward level.

“But if you left it at the polling unit undone, left it at the ward level undone, left it at the local government undone, you cannot come to the INEC state office to obtain what you could not obtain.

“This is why we took the extra mile this year; on February 7th we trained party agents to bring them to a proper understanding of the conduct of the election and what their responsibilities and duties are. And what measures they ought to take at every time and every electoral process.

“The only thing we could do is to receive petitions.”

Meanwhile, tension continues to mount as the Independent National Electoral Commission gets set to complete the collation of the presidential election results today, March 31.

No Landslide Victory For Buhari In Presidential Election

Taking into the account the partial results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, is set to win the presidential election.

Meanwhile, Buhari failed to secure 25%+ in 9 states so far. This may prevent him from a confident victory in the first round.

To win the election, a candidate needs to secure more than 50% of the total votes nationally – and gain at least 25% of the vote in two-thirds of the states.

The outcome of Nigeria’s polls, possibly the closest race since the end of military rule in 1999, trickled in on Monday, March 30, after a weekend election marred by confusion, arguments, card reader’s performance and sporadic violence.

After realising the results from 18 states and the Federal Capital Territory Abuja, the commission postponed the announcement of results late on Monday night local time – saying that they would start again at 10:00 on Tuesday morning.

Naij.com team, which has collected results from as they were being broadcasted live on the TV and radio, reported on Monday night that Buhari had obtained up to 8,520,436 votes, near 55%, and Jonathan – 6,488,210 million, 41.56%.

Today’s result show that Buhari has a total of 10,454,137 votes, which is 49.22%, while Jonathan has 9,953,432, 46.86%.

The INEC announced that the opposition party took the most votes in Oyo, Kogi, Kwara, Katsina, Kaduna, Osun, Kano, Jigawa and Ondo states. Buhari also won in Niger, Lagos and Gombe.

President Jonathan’s ruling PDP took the most ballots in Nasawara, Ekiti, Enugu, Abia, Imo, Akwa Ibom, Plateau, Anambra, Ebonyi, Bayelsa, Cross River and Rivers states and the FCT.

The Premium Times collation of results from Nigeria’s 36 states and Abuja supposes that former military ruler Buhari will win with over 14 million votes, representing about 55% of the vote.

The current head of the country can gather over 11 million votes, representing 44% of the votes.

The study also shows that the Buhari will get the highest number of votes in 21 states while President Jonathan will overcome proceedings in 15 states and Abuja.

The APC candidate will also meet the constitutional obligation to be declared president-elect by getting more than one quarter of the votes in 24 states.

Sahara Reporters is also projecting Muhammadu Buhari as the winner of last weekend’s presidential poll based on collated poll results from 95% of Nigeria’s polling units.

READ ALSO: Buhari Wins Convincingly In Benue

According to the analysis the opposition candidate will take Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara.

While the current head of the country Jonathan will win in Rivers, Plateau, Taraba, Nasarawa, Imo, Enugu, Ekiti, Edo, Delta, Ebonyi, Cross River, Bayelsa, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Abia and the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja).

In Rivers state, the volatile and hotly contested home of Africa’s biggest oil and gas industry, Jonathan won a massive 95% of the vote.

The analysis may have a margin of mistake, and only the electoral commission is constitutionally authorized to announce a candidate winner of the presidential poll.

But if the APC candidate is finally declared the winner, he would be back to power about 30 years after a military coup conceived by Ibrahim Babangida, his then Army chief, dismissed General Buhari as Nigeria’s military head of state.

He would also be making history as the first opposition candidate in Nigeria’s history to remove an incumbent president from governing.

If the trend continues, Jonathan would be the first incumbent to suffer a defeat at the ballot box in the history of Africa’s biggest democracy.

The international community has called for a fair and peaceful election that would send a signal to the rest of the continent.

While INEC took a break in announcing of the results, follow live updates from Naij.com>>>Nigeria Decided: INEC Announces Official Results

PDP Agent Disrupts Presidential Results Announcement

The agent of the Peoples Democratic Party at the announcement of the presidential election in Abuja, Mr. Godsday Orubebe, disrupted the continuation of the presentation of the results.

Shouting on top of his voice, Orubebe, a former Minister of the Niger Delta Affairs, alleged that INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, had taken side with the All Progressives Congress.

At the venue of the results presentation on Tuesday, the PDP agent shouted, “You sent a committee to Rivers to probe what happened there. We submitted petitions to you about Kano, Jigawa, Katsina but you have not done anything about our complaints. You cannot continue with these results; we will not take it.”

As Jega tried to calm him down asking to be given a chance to respond, Orubebe shouted, “Mr. Jega, You cannot continue, go to your office.”

Meanwhile, tension continues to mount as the Independent National Electoral Commission gets set to complete the collation of the presidential election results today, March 31.

US Expert On African Affairs On #NigeriaDecides

US Assistant Secretary Linda Thomas-Greenfield who leads the Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs gave her views about the electoral process.

Speaking at the Channels Television on Tuesday, March 31, Thomas-Greenfield said that Nigeria’s electoral process is very complex, adding that they want to make sure they get it right.

She noted that “the process has improved over 2011 despite some of the logistical problems that people experienced”.

“The world is watching Nigeria, Africa’s largest democracy & one of the world’s largest democracies. We want to see Nigeria continue to take its place in the community of democracies. We’re hopeful that when the process ends, Nigerians will be proud of what they’ve accomplished,” Thomas-Greenfield said.

She also expressed concern about violent outbreaks that led to lots of deaths in 2011. She was “hopeful” the country would remain overall violence-free as results are revealed.

“We are hopeful that violence will not break out. Nigerians experienced that in 2011. No one should lose their lives wanting to express their will at the ballot box,” she said.

Moreover, Thomas-Greenfield said that she hopes “that the candidates’ messages to supporters will encourage them not to go into the streets”.

She also mentioned work of card readers in her interview. “Absolutely, the card reader was not perfect but could be perfected. Smart Card Reader provided a tremendous amount of confidence and transparency. Giving your large population, this is the way to go. I encourage continued use of card readers,” Thomas-Greenfield said.

“We have to continue to work with the INEC to ensure the problems they experience are looked at & corrected. I am really proud of Nigerians. My heart was so warm when I saw how people were waiting in line,” she concluded.

Nigeria election: Buhari 'ahead' in early counting

People watch election news coverage on television at a street in Lagos, Nigeria, 30 March 2015 — The announcement of the results was suspended late on Monday night

Partial results from Nigeria's election give ex-military ruler Muhammadu Buhari more votes than the incumbent, President Goodluck Jonathan.

However, populous states such as Lagos and Rivers are yet to declare.

With just over half of Nigeria's states declared, Gen Buhari's All Progressives Congress (APC) was reported to be ahead by some two million votes.

More results were due to be announced after 10:00 local time (09:00 GMT) on Tuesday.

Nigeria's election commission (Inec) suspended its declarations late on Monday night, after giving the results for 18 states and the capital Abuja.

President Jonathan's People's Democratic Party (PDP) gained 6,488,210 votes and Gen Buhari's APC party received 8,520,436 votes.

Election updates

A Nigerian election official reads local results in Kaduna, Nigeria on 30 March, 2015 — Almost half of Nigeria's states have yet to declare their results

Several key states have yet to declare in the south, where Mr Jonathan, a southerner, enjoys strong support, .

The candidate with the most votes will only avoid a run-off if they gain at least 25% of the votes in two-thirds of Nigeria's 36 states.

The BBC's Will Ross in Abuja says that at this point, neither side is mentioning the possibility of losing the election.

Our correspondent says that international observers have broadly praised the conduct of the vote but there has been some concern over possible efforts to rig the outcome during the count.

Nigeria's election process: Key facts

Candidate with the most votes is declared the winner in the first round
The winning candidate also needs at least 25% of the votes in two-thirds of Nigeria's 36 states
If there is no outright winner, the law says a run-off election must be held within seven days
Victory in a run-off election is by simple majority

How Nigeria's presidential election works

The US and UK have expressed their concerns over possible "political interference" during the count, in a joint statement.

A spokesman from Inec dismissed these fears, saying that "there is absolutely no basis" to talk of meddling.

Authorities in the undeclared Rivers State reportedly announced a curfew on Monday night after protests over alleged vote rigging.

Media captionThe BBC's Andrew Harding: "The concern... is that President Goodluck Jonathan may be heading towards an election defeat and is looking for ways to change that"

Earlier, police in the state used teargas against female opposition protesters who were attempting to lodge complaints with election officials.

Voting spilled into Sunday in some parts of Nigeria after problems were encountered with new electronic card readers.

President Jonathan was among those whose registration to vote was delayed by the technology, which was introduced to prevent fraud.

Election commission chief Attahiru Jega said only a fraction of the 150,000 card readers being used nationwide had failed.

Nigeria at a glance:

A Nigerian voter poses for a photo with a newly acquired permanent voters card - February 2015

Two main presidential candidates: Muhammadu Buhari, All Progressives Congress (APC), Muslim northerner, ex-military ruler, fourth presidential bid; and Goodluck Jonathan, People's Democratic Party (PDP), Christian southerner, the incumbent
Years of military rule ended in 1999 and the PDP has been in power ever since

Nigeria is Africa's largest economy and leading oil producer

With a population of more than 170 million, it is also Africa's most populous nation

Unpredictable poll

Nigeria decides 2015: Full coverage

The UN gave an upbeat assessment of the vote on Sunday, with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon praising the "determination and resilience" of Nigerian voters, despite the reports of attacks by Boko Haram militants and others.

The presidential and parliamentary elections had been delayed by six weeks because of the insurgency by Boko Haram.

All Progressives Congress (APC) party supporters sit on the floor during a march towards the Independent National Electoral Commission Office in Port Harcourt calling for the cancellation of the presidential elections in the Rivers State on 30 March 2015 — Police fired teargas at female protestors in Rivers State on Monday

The Islamists attacked polling stations in north-eastern states, with a curfew declared in Bauchi State after fighting between the security forces and the group.

The PDP has dominated Nigerian politics since 1999, but the APC is viewed as a serious challenge.

Voters are also electing members of the house of representatives and the senate