Nigerian president takes early lead amid vote-rigging charge

KANO, NIGERIA >> Nigeria’s incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari surged to an early lead in election returns Monday, winning seven of 36 states in Africa’s largest democracy, while the main opposition rejected the count, alleging manipulation.

Election observers said the lastminute postponement of the vote until Saturday discouraged some Nigerians from going to the polls as Buhari seeks a second term at the head of a country troubled by corruption, insecurity and a weak economy.

Buhari, a former military dictator from the north, faced a strong challenge from top opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president and businessman, in a race many saw as too close to call. As of Monday night, Abubakar had won two southern states and the territory that includes the capital, Abuja.

His party chairman, Uche Secondus, accused ruling party agents of manipulating results. He rejected the count as “incorrect, thus unacceptable.”