Former military leader, Muhammadu Buhari, has emerged the presidential candidate of opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, by obtaining 3,430 votes to beat four other contestants in the race in which 6,008 delegates voted.

Other contestants in the primaries were Kano State governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, who got 974 votes; former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, with 954 votes, governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha who got 624 votes, and the publisher of Leadership Newspapers, Sam Nda Isiah with 10 votes.

Before announcing the results, former governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, who was the presidential convention planning committee chairman, called on all the agents of the candidates to sign the result tags to indicate their acceptance of the results.

Meanwhile, Abubakar has congratulated Buhari on his victory.

On his Facebook page, Atiku said in a concession speech that he “heartily congratulates Gen. Muhammadu Buhari for emerging victorious in this keenly contested presidential primary election of our great party, APC. You ran a spirited campaign, and since the delegates have spoken, you fully deserve the victory.”

Abubakar also congratulated other aspirants and assured that he would support APC flag bearer and campaign vigorously for his success in the presidential election billed to hold in February 2015.

The aspirants had earlier signed an undertaken to accept the results of the primaries and not to decamp to another party after the party’s presidential primaries.

The five aspirants were screened by a committee chaired by a former governor of Abia State, Ogbonayya Onu.

Onu while addressing journalists at the APC’s national secretariat in Abuja where certificates of clearance were handed over to the aspirants, said the party devised a means to secure the loyalty of all the aspirants by making them sign letters of commitments which stipulated that they would support any aspirant that won the primaries in the general election.

He said that it was also agreed that they would collapse their structures into the party in order to unite and strengthen it.

He expressed his satisfaction at the willingness of the delegates to sign the undertaken.

“We are happy to announce to you that all the five aspirants were very happy to sign these letters of commitment.”

Meanwhile, the Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole has congratulated Buhari on his emergence as the party’s Presidential flag-bearer, describing him as a highly disciplined, tested and trusted leader.

Oshiomhole expressed the belief that the emergence of Buhari will bring about the much anticipated change that Nigeria needs.

“While I again congratulate our party for this great convention and its outcome, I want to commend the spirit of sportsmanship exhibited by the other Presidential aspirants of our party and implore them to join hands with our flag-bearer, to ensure the victory of our great party, the All Progressives Congress, at the polls in 2015,” he said.

The convention which started on Wednesday night at the Teslim Salama Stadium, Onika, Lagos, was held under tight security and was adjudged free and fair.