Nigeria's new president-elect Buhari hails polls

Nigeria's new president-elect Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday hailed polls that will lead to the first democratic change of power in Africa`s most populous nation as "historic" hours after he secured a decisive victory.

The official results released early Wednesday, Buhari won Nigeria`s presidential election by 2.57 million votes, defeating incumbent Goodluck Jonathan in a triumph greeted by joyous street celebrations.

Buhari, in an early morning speech at the headquarters of his All Progressives Congress (APC) party in Nigeria`s capital Abuja, declared "we have put one-party state behind us."

"Our country has now joined the community of nations that have used the ballot box to peacefully change an incumbent president in a free and fair election," he said. "To me this is indeed historic."

The gripping contest also capped a remarkable transformation for 72-year-old former army general Buhari, who led a tough military regime in the 1980s but now describes himself as a "converted democrat".

But the election could also reverberate well beyond Nigeria and serve as an example for the rest of Africa, where leaders have all too often sought to cling to power at any cost.