NIGERIA PRIMARIES ELEECTIONS
Friday 14 January, 2011 Updated 21:08
Jonathan Floors Atiku
14 Jan 2011
And the winner is Jonathan...
President Goodluck Jonathan was earlier this morning declared the presidential flagbearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the general election with a comprehensive victory over his closest rival, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
Jonathan scored 2,736 delegate votes, more than triple the vote of Atiku who scored 805 votes in the result declared by Professor Tunde Adeniran, the Chief Returning Officer.
The third aspirant, Mrs Sarah Jibril, scored a solitary vote from her home state, Kwara, suggesting that she was the only one who voted for herself.
Analysts had predicted that the election would be a tight race between Jonathan and Atiku.
Jonathan cleared all the available votes in Akwa Ibom (141), his Bayelsa home state (67) and took clear leads in Abia, Rivers, Jigawa, Taraba, Osun, Benue and Nasarawa.
In Adamawa, Atiku’s home state, the president polled 76 votes to Atiku’s 31 votes.
In Anambra where there is no PDP governor and where former Vice-President Alex Ekwueme and immediate past governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, were rooting for Atiku, Jonathan also defeated Atiku, polling 47 to the former vice-president’s eight votes.
The former vice-president, however, won convincingly in Sokoto and Zamfara and made a good showing in Bauchi. He also won in Kebbi.
Atiku had made an issue of zoning in the build-up to the election, arguing that the North was entitled to the presidency in 2011 according to the party’s power rotation arrangement.
In the Northern states where he won, the zoning sentiment is believed to have swayed the delegates more than any other factor.
Sorting and counting of votes had begun around 10 pm yesterday.
Each aspirant was represented by two agents.
Delegates started arriving Eagle Square around 3.20 pm, though the convention was slated to start at 10 am.
State delegates were led into the venue in coastal buses from the accreditation venue at the International Conference Centre and Women Development Centre, Abuja accompanied by their governors.
No siren. The buses were heavily guarded by armed police personnel.
President Jonathan arrived at 5.33 pm along with his wife, Patience. Vice-President Namadi Sambo and his wife, Amina, had earlier arrived at 5.18 pm.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo arrived at 5.28 pm.
Atiku arrived the convention venue at 4.20 pm along with former Senate President Ken Nnamani.
The Deputy National Chairman, Dr. Harilu Mohammed Bello, and other members of the National Working Committee (NWC) arrived at 5.10 pm.
The ballot papers were delivered to the Adeniran-led electoral panel at about 5pm.
Opening prayers were said by PDP National Auditor Samuel Ortom and former governor of Bauchi State, Alhaji Adamu Muazu.
Security was very tight in and around the Eagle Square.
There were more than eight entrances each fitted with all kinds of security gadgets. There was serious security check before anybody was allowed entrance.
Each of the security check points was manned by the Police, SSS, anti-bomb squad officials and other security groups like the Nigeria Civil Defence Corps and men of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC).
Each of the three aspirants was given five minutes to address the delegates.
Jibril spoke about her formidable pedigree and asked the delegates to give a woman a chance, saying women had been under-represented in governance in the country.
She said she could not sit by and watch Nigeria being labelled a corrupt country and that she would address the corruption problem if given the mandate.
Jibril said she was in the race to show that zoning had no basis in the PDP presidential race, making a veiled reference to Atiku who seemed to cast his lot around the zoning issue.
Atiku said he is trustworthy, ready to lead the country and the most experienced of all the aspirants.
He recalled the zoning issue, saying President Jonathan was a signatory to zoning but had now reneged on the issue, alleging that the President is not trust-worthy.
The former vice-president also talked about rising debts, depleting excess crude funds and alleged that Jonathan had not achieved anything in seven months.
President Jonathan received a loud ovation when he got up to mount the rostrum. He said he had solved a lot of problems like fuel scarcity, air safety, improved power and was building infrastructure like no other.
He promised to provide a strong leadership but he said he would not take issues with Atiku.
We have all been tested and the delegates know our competences: they will vote tonight for who they choose but I ask for your votes, he said.
State
Jonathan
Atiku
Abia
80
1
Adamawa
76
31
Akwa Ibom
141
0
Anambra
47
8
Bayelsa
67
0
Bauchi
46
44
Rivers
128
2
Sokoto
32
84
Taraba
62
16
Yobe
29
20
Zamfara
7
70
FCT
24
3
Lagos
52
3
Jigawa
100
17
Nasarawa
53
8
Osun
99
1
Benue
72
15
Ondo
69
6
Gombe
55
18
Borno
33
26
Imo
125
3
Kano
12
98
C River
105
0
Edo
60
0
Ebonyi
82
2
Kwara
61
26
Enugu
89
9
Delta
144
7
Katsina
147
11
Ekiti
76
1
Kogi
84
24
Plateau
70
2
Oyo
107
10
Ogun
80
3
Niger
94
16
Kaduna
82
41
Kebbi
33
44
Total
2736
805
Jubril. 1
Jonathan Floors Atiku
14 Jan 2011
And the winner is Jonathan...
President Goodluck Jonathan was earlier this morning declared the presidential flagbearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the general election with a comprehensive victory over his closest rival, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
Jonathan scored 2,736 delegate votes, more than triple the vote of Atiku who scored 805 votes in the result declared by Professor Tunde Adeniran, the Chief Returning Officer.
The third aspirant, Mrs Sarah Jibril, scored a solitary vote from her home state, Kwara, suggesting that she was the only one who voted for herself.
Analysts had predicted that the election would be a tight race between Jonathan and Atiku.
Jonathan cleared all the available votes in Akwa Ibom (141), his Bayelsa home state (67) and took clear leads in Abia, Rivers, Jigawa, Taraba, Osun, Benue and Nasarawa.
In Adamawa, Atiku’s home state, the president polled 76 votes to Atiku’s 31 votes.
In Anambra where there is no PDP governor and where former Vice-President Alex Ekwueme and immediate past governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, were rooting for Atiku, Jonathan also defeated Atiku, polling 47 to the former vice-president’s eight votes.
The former vice-president, however, won convincingly in Sokoto and Zamfara and made a good showing in Bauchi. He also won in Kebbi.
Atiku had made an issue of zoning in the build-up to the election, arguing that the North was entitled to the presidency in 2011 according to the party’s power rotation arrangement.
In the Northern states where he won, the zoning sentiment is believed to have swayed the delegates more than any other factor.
Sorting and counting of votes had begun around 10 pm yesterday.
Each aspirant was represented by two agents.
Delegates started arriving Eagle Square around 3.20 pm, though the convention was slated to start at 10 am.
State delegates were led into the venue in coastal buses from the accreditation venue at the International Conference Centre and Women Development Centre, Abuja accompanied by their governors.
No siren. The buses were heavily guarded by armed police personnel.
President Jonathan arrived at 5.33 pm along with his wife, Patience. Vice-President Namadi Sambo and his wife, Amina, had earlier arrived at 5.18 pm.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo arrived at 5.28 pm.
Atiku arrived the convention venue at 4.20 pm along with former Senate President Ken Nnamani.
The Deputy National Chairman, Dr. Harilu Mohammed Bello, and other members of the National Working Committee (NWC) arrived at 5.10 pm.
The ballot papers were delivered to the Adeniran-led electoral panel at about 5pm.
Opening prayers were said by PDP National Auditor Samuel Ortom and former governor of Bauchi State, Alhaji Adamu Muazu.
Security was very tight in and around the Eagle Square.
There were more than eight entrances each fitted with all kinds of security gadgets. There was serious security check before anybody was allowed entrance.
Each of the security check points was manned by the Police, SSS, anti-bomb squad officials and other security groups like the Nigeria Civil Defence Corps and men of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC).
Each of the three aspirants was given five minutes to address the delegates.
Jibril spoke about her formidable pedigree and asked the delegates to give a woman a chance, saying women had been under-represented in governance in the country.
She said she could not sit by and watch Nigeria being labelled a corrupt country and that she would address the corruption problem if given the mandate.
Jibril said she was in the race to show that zoning had no basis in the PDP presidential race, making a veiled reference to Atiku who seemed to cast his lot around the zoning issue.
Atiku said he is trustworthy, ready to lead the country and the most experienced of all the aspirants.
He recalled the zoning issue, saying President Jonathan was a signatory to zoning but had now reneged on the issue, alleging that the President is not trust-worthy.
The former vice-president also talked about rising debts, depleting excess crude funds and alleged that Jonathan had not achieved anything in seven months.
President Jonathan received a loud ovation when he got up to mount the rostrum. He said he had solved a lot of problems like fuel scarcity, air safety, improved power and was building infrastructure like no other.
He promised to provide a strong leadership but he said he would not take issues with Atiku.
We have all been tested and the delegates know our competences: they will vote tonight for who they choose but I ask for your votes, he said.
State
Jonathan
Atiku
Abia
80
1
Adamawa
76
31
Akwa Ibom
141
0
Anambra
47
8
Bayelsa
67
0
Bauchi
46
44
Rivers
128
2
Sokoto
32
84
Taraba
62
16
Yobe
29
20
Zamfara
7
70
FCT
24
3
Lagos
52
3
Jigawa
100
17
Nasarawa
53
8
Osun
99
1
Benue
72
15
Ondo
69
6
Gombe
55
18
Borno
33
26
Imo
125
3
Kano
12
98
C River
105
0
Edo
60
0
Ebonyi
82
2
Kwara
61
26
Enugu
89
9
Delta
144
7
Katsina
147
11
Ekiti
76
1
Kogi
84
24
Plateau
70
2
Oyo
107
10
Ogun
80
3
Niger
94
16
Kaduna
82
41
Kebbi
33
44
Total
2736
805
Jubril. 1
THE LONDON BOAT SHOW
