Nigeria's main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday called on the electoral body to halt the on-going collation of results of Saturday's presidential election.

Supporters of Incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari dance to Lady Gaga songs anticipating a win as they wait for the results to be officially announced in Abuja, Nigeria, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019. [Photo: IC]

Tanimu Turaki, deputy director general of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organization, said in a statement that the move is to ensure a "transparent, free and fair election."

He urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to wait until data from the smart card reader accreditation at the polling units are made available to all parties in the election.

"We have evidence from the smart card reader accreditation data that what is being announced by the INEC has been seriously tampered with and manipulated," Turaki said.

He said the PDP demanded immediate cancellation of presidential election results in the states of Yobe, Zamfara and Borno and called for new rounds of elections.

The opposition also called for immediate restoration of the PDP's valid votes, which were "unlawfully and arbitrarily cancelled by the INEC" in the states of Nasarawa, Kogi and Plateau, and the Federal Capital Territory.

Turaki calls on Nigerians to disregard the results until the INEC provides data from the smart card reader accreditation at the polling units.

Saturday's presidential election is a two-horse race between the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari and PDP candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

According to the results announced by INEC, Buhari took an obvious lead in the race.