President ignores vote-rigging claims

NIGERIA’S newly re-elected President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday ignored a torrent of claims that his spectacular victory was achieved by crude vote-rigging.

Opposition parties, most foreign observers and the US State Department voiced reactions ranging from fury to disbelief after the outcome of the April 19 presidential election was chaotically proclaimed on Tuesday night.

The elections had been seen as a milestone in the transition from military to civilian rule in troubled Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and biggest oil producer.