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ELECTIONS-NIGERIA: President Obasanjo Heads For Another Term

Toye Olori

LAGOS, Apr 21 2003 (IPS) - Barring unforeseen circumstances, Olusegun Obasanjo is expected to be sworn-in as Nigeria’s President on May 29 for a second term of office, having garnered 70 percent of the vote in Saturday’s elections, according to the preliminary count.

Barring all unforeseen circumstances, President Olusegun Obasanjo is expected to be sworn-in as Nigeria’s President on May 29 for a second term of office.

According to results of Saturday’s Presidential elections, released so far, Obasanjo is reported to have scored more than 70 per cent of the votes.

Preliminary results show that Obasanjo has secured 25 per cent of vote cast in 22 states and the federal capital territory so far released. His closest rival, General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP), has reportedly scored 25 per cent of the votes in 12 states and the federal capital.

The constitution requires that the winner must secure 25 per cent of the votes in two-thirds of the states.

In the state governor elections candidates from Obasanjo’s ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have swept 23 states of the 30 states so far announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) is reported to have won in six states and the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in one state.

The People’s Democratic Party – following closely on it’s performance in the South-western Nigeria during the parliamentary elections on Apr 12 – captured from the Alliance for Democracy Oyo, Ogun, Ekiti and Osun states except Lagos out of the five states so far declared in the region. Results from Ondo state are yet to be announced.

The PDP candidates also snatched the middle-belt states of Kogi and Kwara from the ANPP. Most of the incumbent governors of the PDP were re-elected, except for Kano which was taken over by the ANPP.

The ANPP won Borno state governorship seat from the PDP whose governor defected to join the AD where he stood as candidate in Saturday’s polls. The ANPP retained its seats in Jigawa and Zamfara states but lost the seat in Katsina State, Buhari’s home state, to the incumbent governor Umar Yar’Adua of the PDP. The PDP had lost two senatorial seats to the ANPP in the state during the parliamentary polls.

However, while the presidential and state governor polls went smoothly on Saturday with large turn-out of voters despite rains in some areas, some of the results so far declared are being challenged by some of the candidates.

In Lagos, two parties – the PDP and the ANPP – have alleged massive rigging in some areas and have threatened to take their case before the electoral tribunal. In Rivers state, Sergeant Awuse, the governor candidate of the ANPP has protested the results which brought back incumbent governor Peter Odili.

In neighbouring Ogun state – Obasanjo’s home state – which was snatched by the PDP, the Alliance for Democracy National Organising Secretary, Ibrahim Alfa said the results are unacceptable to his party. ”We reject them in their entirety because they were full of manipulations and fraud”.

The Chair of INEC, Abel Guobadia, has said until there are established cases of electoral fraud, INEC will continue to rely on the results declared and presented by its state commissioners. Guobadia was reacting to criticisms that in some states elections were allegedly not held but results were declared.

The polls were not without incident. Two persons were confirmed dead while a number of others injured when youth attacked the palace of a royal father and other party chieftains in the Delta state. Police also announced that 91 people including the United Nigeria Peoples Party (UNPP) governor candidate for Katsina State were arrested for various electoral offences during the elections. The police also arrested a vice chair of a local government in Kebbi for possession of 200 thumb-printed ballot papers and a pistol.

However, for those who are still contesting results, prominent Nigerians have appealed to them to accept the results in the interest of democracy in the country. Former president Shehu Shagari advised defeated politicians to accept the people’s verdict in good faith so that democracy could thrive in Nigeria.

Shagari told journalists in Sokoto that Saturday’s elections ”marked the nation’s match towards realities as Nigerians have shown that they could not be fooled forever”.

”Though the military always accused elected leaders of corruption and similar vices when they interfere with the democratic structure, the performance of the military in office showed that they were not better,” he said.

Shagari, who received the baton of leadership from Obasanjo, then as head of state of Nigeria in 1979, was overthrown by General Muhammadu Buhari in 1983 after an unsuccessful transition from civilian election.