Nigerian democracy grows up

Of the four main opposition parties that fielded candidates for the 469 parliamentary seats in contention, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) took the bulk of the votes in the southwest of the country, felling such PDP stalwarts as House speaker Dimeji Bankole and Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, daughter of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

The PDP did, however, fend off challenge in the oil-producing Niger Delta, President Goodluck Jonathan's home region. It also held its own in the predominantly Igbo southeast and the middle belt, home to several small ethnic groups.