2019 poll: Atiku races to unseat Buhari
Follow @kennysous After emerging winner of the presidential primary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Port Harcourt, Rivers state on Sunday, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is now in the race to unseat the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Announcing the results today at the ongoing PDP National […]
L-R: Atiku Abubakar, President Muhammadu Buhari.
After emerging winner of the presidential primary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Port Harcourt, Rivers state on Sunday, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is now in the race to unseat the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Announcing the results today at the ongoing PDP National Convention, the governor of Delta state and Chairman of the PDP 2018 National Convention Planning Committee, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, said Atiku got 1,532 votes to defeat Sokoto state Governor Aminu Tambuwal who had 693 votes and Senate President Bukola Saraki who came third with 317 votes, alongside 8 others.
Other contestants defeated by Atiku are Senator Jonah Jang with 19 votes; Senator Datti Baba-Ahmed who had 5 votes; Senator David Mark who had 35 votes and Alhaji Taminu Turaki who had 65 votes.
Others are former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido who had 96 votes; former Sokoto state governor, Attahiru Bafarawa who had 48 votes; Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe state who had 111 votes while Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso got 158 votes.
Out of the 3,274 delegates who were cleared at the PDP convention, only 3,221 voted. The total number of votes voided was 68 while total number of valid votes was 3,153, according to the result sheet signed by agents of the 12 aspirants.
Also, Daily Trust recalled that President Buhari emerged the APC presidential candidate for the 2019 poll having garnered 14.8 million votes from party faithful in presidential primary held across the country last week.
In 2015, Buhari became Nigeria’s president after defeating former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, the PDP’s flagbearer in a keenly contested election.
However, Atiku, who was the former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s deputy between 1999 to 2007, would slug it out mainly with the incumbent President Buhari and other candidates at the presidential election billed for February 2019, according to the electoral umpire’s 2019 general election’s timetable.