Abuja, April 1 (IANS) Muhammadu Buhari, the candidate of Nigeria’s opposition All Progressive Congress, was officially declared president-elect on Wednesday, marking the first time that an incumbent has been defeated in the country’s presidential election.
Earlier, outgoing president Goodluck Jonathan conceded the weekend race saying he has kept his promise of free and fair elections to the nation.
Buhari polled 15,424,921, against Jonathan’s 12,853,162, to emerge winner of the national election, Xinhua news agency reported. The president-elect beat Jonathan by a margin of 2,571,759 votes.
Buhari, who had unsuccessfully contested in three consecutive presidential elections in the country, between 2003 and 2011, was earlier congratulated by Jonathan as it became clear that he had won the battle hours before the official declaration was made by the Independent National Electoral Commission.