Early tally puts Buhari ahead

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday took an early lead in initial official results from Nigeria’s presidential election but the party of his main challenger quickly rejected the tallies as “incorrect and unacceptable”. Saturday’s election, which US observers said had lost some credibility after being abruptly delayed by a week by officials citing organisational glitches, was expected to be Nigeria’s tightest since the end of military rule two decades ago.At stake is the helm of Africa’s top oil producer and biggest economy, rattled by a decade-long battle with Islamist militants in the northeast that has spilled into neighbouring countries and prompted the deployment of a regional task force.Buhari, 76, is a former military ruler seeking a second term on an anti-corruption platform, while Atiku, 72, a businessman and ex-vice president, has pledged above all to expand the role of the private sector.Initial results released yesterday by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) put Buhari in the lead.He won in four of Nigeria’s 36 states — two in the southwest, and one each in the east and central parts of the country, INEC said, while Atiku prevailed in the capital Abuja.In provisional results announced in state capitals but not yet confirmed by INEC, Buhari took the northeastern state of Yobe while Atiku won in Ondo state in the southwest.Asked about the early results, Buhari told reporters: “I don’t want to depend on rumours...We will rather wait for INEC to announce the (full) results.”But the chairman of Atiku’s People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Secondus, said the election tallies announced so far were “incorrect and unacceptable”.“The results are being manipulated and cancelled for APC to retain power,” he told reporters, referring to Buhari’s party.Security forces are currently stretched by the Islamist insurgency as well as by communal violence and banditry in other areas.Hours before polls opened, explosions rocked Maiduguri, capital of Borno state, epicentre of the insurgency.In neighbouring Yobe, residents of the town of Geidam fled a militant attack around the same time.Scattered violence and problems with smart card readers that authenticate voters’ fingerprints meant voting in a small number of precincts had to put off to Sunday, Mitchell said.“Serious operational shortcomings put an undue burden on voters,” Maria Arena, the EU’s chief observer and member of the European parliament, told reporters.