The National Convention of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Saturday, October 6 announced that President Muhammadu Buhari got 14.8 million votes during the direct presidential primary the party held on Friday, Sept. 29.

Chairman of the Convention Election Committee and Governor-elect of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, said President Buhari polled 14,842,072 votes in 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). APC claims to have developed a database of 15.6 million members.

The various state chapters of APC had earlier announced various figures as the votes for Buhari during their state congresses to endorse the President’s candidature using the party’s recently adopted direct primary model under which every party member is involved in selecting a candidate.

A report this morning by the authoritative Daily Trust newspaper, however, indicated that the figures were inflated in a number of states.

The report said: “The figures given by the APC indicated that votes were cast and counted in all the states and the FCT as follows: Abia, 43,308; Adamawa, 263,945; Akwa Ibom, 140,822; Anambra, 248,268; Bauchi, 316,199; Bayelsa, 210,201; Benue, 259,130; Borno, 466,601; Cross River, 145,615; Ebonyi, 157,455; Edo, 505,827; Ekiti, 199,724; Enugu, 17,291; Gombe, 112,857; Imo, 115,830; Jigawa, 202,597; Kaduna, 597,209; Kano, 2,931,335; Katsina, 802,819; Kebbi, 210,687; Kogi, 387,003; Kwara, 159, 822; Lagos, 2,272,722; Nasarawa, 110,879; Niger, 387,097; Ogun, 586,453; Ondo, 436,968; Osun, 512,013; Oyo, 421, 200; Plateau, 123,073; Rivers, 388,653; Sokoto, 313,091; Taraba, 139,102; Yobe, 199,414; Zamfara, 247,847; and FCT, 54,128.

“But reports from our correspondents on the APC presidential primary indicated that while elections did not hold in some states, the president was returned through a voice vote in others.

“Similarly, the figures given by some governors soon after the primary were different from what the APC declared on Saturday.

“For instance, while Ekiti and Ogun supported President Buhari’s re-election through a voice vote, the APC said the president got 199,724 and 586,453 respectively.

“The party also said the president got 512,013 votes in Osun while reports from the state on the day of the election indicated that he was actually voted through affirmation by APC members.

“Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai, who was the ‘Returning Officer’ for the exercise in Kaduna, had shortly after the presidential primary said Buhari got 1,956,500 votes but the results released by the Fayemi committee indicated that he got 597,209 in Kaduna.

“Sources within the APC in Taraba State said the president was given 875,385 votes during the primary but the results released by the Fayemi committee showed that Buhari got 139, 102.”

Update news