Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) agents at the National Conference Centre in Abuja where the results are being declared in the Nigerian elections stalled the process on Tuesday morning, accusing the chairman of the electoral body of being partial.
Led by Godday Orubebe, the group took over the podium and verbally attacked the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Attahiru Jega.
Graphiconline’s correspondent in Abuja, Kwamena Nyamekye, reported that the group said: “the PDP has lost confidence in the Chairman because he was partial, he is compromised.”
They threatened not to have anything to do with the process again and accused the chairman of bias by failing to investigate the party’s [PDP] protest letter on the election in Kano, Katsina and Jigawa .
Nyamekye reported that the personal security of Prof Jega had to whisk him away until tempers went down and calm was restored.
The beef of the PDP was that they have called for the cancellation of results from some states, but the INEC had refused.
After calm was restored, Prof Jega explained that the PDP wanted to present their petition to him at the declaration centre but directed them to send it to his secretariat.
Buhari takes lead
Results from Nigeria's elections, potentially the closest contest since the end of military rule in 1999, are trickling in with Presidential challenger Muhammadu Buhari taking several northern states and leading the results.
Eager Nigerians are highly anticipating results of Saturday’s polls that were extended to Sunday in the most fiercely contested election in the country’s post-independence history that seems likely to wind down to a tense conclusion.
Results are trickling in amid fears that the polarised electorate would clash regardless of the outcome in a country sharply split along ethnic and sectarian lines.
