Outgoing Nigerian president Jonathan concedes defeat

Lagos, April 1
Outgoing Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday conceded defeat in the presidential election after the opposition took a decisive lead, and called up his rival Muhamadu Buhari to congratulate him on the victory.

Spokesman for Buhari's All Progressives Congress party (APC), Lai Mohammed, confirmed to Efe that Buhari received the call from Jonathan.

Although Jonathan was initially given a slight advantage, Buhari had managed to take a lead in the election by two million votes after winning several key states.

With the final result yet to be announced, the APC on Tuesday declared victory in the election.

According to Nigerian electoral law, the winning candidate should get at least 51 percent of the popular votes and at least 25 percent of the votes in 24 of the 36 states.