Jonathan 2,736, Atiku 805, Jibril 1, voided votes 61 AT exactly 4:45 GMT the curtain on the counting of the votes cast by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) delegates was drawn. Against all predictions, Jonathan won overwhelmingly in 32 states and the Federal Capital Territory. Atiku however won convincingly in four states of Niger, Sokoto, Zamfara and Sokoto. Kaduna, the home state of the Vice President, Namadi Sambo was counted last. And the pendulum swung in favour of Jonathan. At 5.09 GMT, Jonathan and Sambo stepped forward to pick the party’s flag as its standard bearers. In his acceptance speech, Jonathan said fate beckoned on him to step into the nation’s mantle of leadership following the death of Yar’Adua. He promised not to disappoint Nigerians and the PDP by ensuring the unity of the country. He also paid tribute to his opponents Atiku Abubakar and Sarah Jibril and said he expected them to join him to build a virile nation.They were accompanied by their wives to the podium. The president was presented alongside his deputy, to the delegates as winner by the PDP Acting Chairman Haliru Bello Mohammed. The President did not find it rough even in states regarded by political pundits as Atiku’s stronghold. Apart from Kano, Zamfara, Sokoto and Niger states, Atiku did not make any impressive showing in the entire exercise. The first sign that the odds were against Atiku came from his home state of Adamawa, where the president snatched the ticket from him. Sarah Jibril, who had from onset been on the receiving end without any vote got a consolation vote from a delegate from Kwara State where Jonathan clinched 61 votes to Atiku’s 26. As more results were collated from additional states, Jonathan maintained his lead. Katsina State, the home state of the late President Musa Yar’Adua, the president’s boss before his demise also turned the tide against Atiku, who is seen by many as a friend of the Yar’Adua’s dynasty. Here, Jonathan caged the Turaki Adamawa with 147 votes to the former Vice President’s 11. As usual, Jibril got no vote. It was also a shocker for Atiku in Ekiti State where he got one vote to the President’s 76. Half way into the counting, an earlier worried president put on a smile while Atiku appeared tensed. His mobile phone was constantly on his ears throughout most of the period. The special convention of the ruling Party, was generally peaceful. It was a long tortuous journey from accreditation to the vote counting last night. From the votes counted so far from about two thirds of the delegates from all over the country this morning, Jonathan leads his main rival, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar by a wide margin. After a full day of accreditation and eventual voting, at 10.10 p.m., chairman of the electoral panel, Prof. Tunde Adeniran, called on the candidates to send their agents to represent them at the counting arena to witness the exercise. A security circle was formed by policemen around the boxes. Journalists were excluded while other party members without any business there were ordered to leave the area. The first six states of Adamawa, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue states took the lead in the counting process in alphabetical order. The ballot boxes for each of the states were brought up, placed on the table and opened. The counting proper started at 10.23 when the contents of the ballot box from Abia State were poured on the table. After a few moments of deliberations the panel members agreed to adopt open sorting and announcement of the aspirants’ votes. As each ballot paper was brought out from the box it was shown to each of the three aspirants’ agents for confirmation. An attempt to demonstrate the transparency of the process brought out the crudest form of vote counting and eventually, a tedious process. In Abia, total votes expected from the state were 81 and Jonathan got 80 while Atiku received one. Following queries, the register of the total number of voters accredited, were presented. Altogether, 82 voters were accredited from Abia. The result was signed by the agents. Each state had a returning officer. This was followed by the counting of Adamawa State, Atiku’s home state. 127 delegates were accredited from Adamawa State, which submitted a list of 131 delegates. Two votes were voided. Twenty delegates apparently did not feature in the exercise. Jonathan won 76 to Atiku’s 31. From Akwa Ibom, 142 delegates were accredited of which 141 voted for Jonathan and one vote was declared as pending. The accredited delegates from Anambra State were 69 and 55 voted. Jonathan got 47 votes to Atiku’s eight. Counting of votes from the President’s home state of Bayelsa started at 11.45 p.m. The state had 67 delegates and all of them voted. Jonathan recorded 100 per cent vote from his state. The returning officer for each state at the sorting stage took time to present the ballot papers to the agents of the aspirants for inspection. In Bauchi State, it was a close race as the President polled 46 votes while 44 delegates voted for Atiku. Five votes were voided. The President also coasted home to victory in Rivers State where most of the delegates preferred him to the former Vice President (Atiku). While Jonathan received 128 votes to Atiku’s two. The former Vice President turned the table in Sokoto State where he defeated Jonathan with 84 votes. The President got 32 votes while two were voided in the state. The President had a smooth sail in Taraba and Yobe states, he was roundly beaten by Atiku in Zamfara State with an overwhelming vote of 70 and seven votes for the President. The total delegates from the state were 82 but five of the votes from the delegates were found in the FCT box. Three votes were voided in Nasarawa State, where the President led by 53 votes to Atiku’s eight. Jonathan also had a free run in Osun, Benue, and Ondo States as he remained the favourite of delegates from the three states. The President garnered 72 votes in Benue and Atiku (15). In Ondo, Jonathan got 69 and Atiku 6. It was the same order in Gombe State where Jonathan received 55 votes against Atiku’s 18. In all the states counted at press time, Sarah Jibril, the third presidential candidate did not get any vote. RESULTS Jonathan Atiku Jubril 1. Abia 80 1 0 2. Adamawa 76 31 0 3. A’ Ibom 141 0 0 4. Anambra 47 8 0 5. Bayelsa 67 0 0 6. Bauchi 46 4 0 7. Rivers 128 2 0 8. Sokoto 32 84 0 9. Taraba 62 16 0 10. Yobe 29 20 0 11. Zamfara 7 70 0 12. FCT 24 3 0 13. Lagos 52 3 0 14. Jigawa 100 17 0 15. Nasarawa 53 8 0 16. Osun 99 1 0 17. Benue 72 15 0 18. Ondo 69 6 0 19. Gombe 55 18 0 20. Borno 33 26 0 21. Imo 125 3 0 22. Kano 21 98 0 23. Cross River 105 0 0 24. Edo 60 0 0 25. Ebonyi 82 2 0 26. Kwara 61 26 1 27 Enugu 89 9 0 28. Delta 114 7 0 29. Katsina 147 11 0 30. Ekiti 76 1 0 31. Kogi 84 24 0 32. Plateau 70 5 0 33. Kebbi 33 44 0 34. Oyo 107 10 0 35. Ogun 80 3 0 36. Niger 16 94 0 37. Kaduna 82 41 0 Source: The Guardian/Nigeria