The chances of President Muhammadu Buhari returning to the Aso Presidential Villa in Abuja are becoming brighter as the results of Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections trickle in.
Checks at the National Headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) this morning showed that the pattern of results is not favouring Buhari’s main challenger, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“From the look of things, Atiku will require a miracle to catch up with Buhari if the results that have come in are anything to go by,” a top source at the INEC HQ said.
“Buhari’s margin of victory in his northern stronghold is too wide. For example, in a ward in Kano, you may find Buhari beating Atiku with over a thousand votes while in areas (outside Kano) where Atiku wins, the gap is usually not much,” the source disclosed.
News Express reports that Buhari, a retired army general and presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), is a cult figure in Nigeria’s Far North while Atiku, a wealthy and liberal businessman, is popular mainly in the South and among the country’s elite.
The voting, held yesterday across the country, was marred by violence, late arrival of INEC officials and electoral materials, as well as malfunctioning of card readers.
Collation of results is presently on-going.
