Retired Major General Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR) has emerged as the presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), beating every other contestant to the ticket. He pulled total number of 3,430 votes to emerge as the winner while Mohammed Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso who was Governor of Kano State from 1999 to 2003 pulled 974 votes to finish in the second position. Former Vice President of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar finished third with 954 votes.
Other contestant are Imo State Governor and former presidential aspirant, Rochas Anayo Okorocha who came forth with a total number of 624 votes and Sam Nda Isaiah who finished last with 10 votes. Total of 16 votes where invalid
About Muhammadu Buhari
Muhammadu Buhari was the military head of state of Nigeria from December 31, 1983 to August 27, 1985.
In 1983 Major-General Buhari and Major-General Tunde Idiagbon were selected to lead the country by middle and high-ranking military officers after a successful military coup d’etat that overthrew civilian President Shehu Shagari on December.
In 1985 Buhari was himself overthrown in a coup led by General Ibrahim Babangida on August 27th, and other members of the ruling Supreme Military Council (SMC) ostensibly, because he insisted on investigating allegations of fraudulent award of contracts in the Ministry of Defence (Please refer to Gen. Chris Alli’s memoir – The Republic of Nigerian Army).
Buhari contested the Presidential election as the candidate of the All Nigeria People’s Party on 2003.
On 18th December 2006, Gen. Buhari was nominated as the consensus candidate of the All Nigeria People’s Party.
His main challenger in the 2007 April polls was the ruling PDP’s Umaru Yar’Adua, who is also from the same state – Katsina and he lost. In March 2010, Buhari left the ANPP for the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), a party that he had helped to found.
He said that he had supported foundation of the CPC “as a solution to the debilitating, ethical and ideological conflicts in my former party the ANPP”.
Buhari was the CPC Presidential candidate in the 16 April 2011 general election, running against incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP),Mallam Nuhu Ribadu of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), and Ibrahim Shekarau of ANPP.
They were the major contenders among 20 contestants.He was running on an anti-corruption platform and pledged to remove immunity protections from government officials.He also gave support to enforcement of Sharia law in Nigeria’s northern states, which had previously caused him political difficulties among Christian voters in the country’s south.
However, he remains a “folk hero” to some for his vocal opposition to corruption.Buhari won 12,214,853 votes, coming second to the incumbent president Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP, who polled 22,495,187 votes and was declared the winner candidate. Story via Naij.com
Leave a Reply