Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is miles ahead of other contenders in the hunt for delegates for the All Pro­gressives Congress (APC) presidential primaries, according to findings by Aflah Consult, an independent research group.

In one of its research studies carried out last month, the group said data available to it after polling the known delegates, mainly the state, local council and ward executives and the three delegates chosen from each ward, Atiku stood the best chance of clinching the APC presidential primaries scheduled to take place on Wednesday, December 10, 2014.

The research group, however, said the data gathered did not include those of the members of the National Assembly, both former and serving, who are automatic delegates to the convention because these groups were not polled. This, how­ever, would not, in their view, alter the outcome of their findings.

According to the research by the Kano-based independent research group, 17 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are safely in the camp of Atiku Abubakar.

The Atiku states are Adamawa, Yobe, Jigawa, Taraba, Plateau, Benue, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Abia, Ebonyi, Anam­bra, Delta, Ondo, Ekiti and FCT.

The research reveals that the pro-Buhari states totalling 10 are Borno, Bauchi, Katsina, Nasarawa, Kogi, Kwara, Osun, Ogun, Bayelsa and Rivers.

Kano State, for obvious reasons, according to the research findings, is safely in the net of the proponent of Kwakwasiya and Kano State Gov­ernor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, while votes of Niger State delegates would tilt towards the founder of the Leadership Group, Sam Nda Isaiah.

There are seven states, which are too close to call, meaning that they could go to Atiku, Buhari, Kwankwaso, or Nda-Isaiah. The seven states are Gombe, Kaduna, Oyo, Lagos, Edo, Imo and Enugu.

Aflah Consult is the brainchild of a group of social scientists drawn from some universities but mostly in the Bayero University, Kano.

Credit: http://sunnewsonline.com/new/?p=94456