By Alex Crawford, Special Correspondent, in Abuja
The man who has taken a significant early lead in Nigeria's closest-ever presidential election has told Sky News he does not even know the official timetable for any run-off, such is the quiet confidence in his camp.
But the APC's Muhammadu Buhari cautioned an outright win would only happen if the count was "free and fair".
We joined Mr Buhari as the first half of results in the count showed a convincing lead for the former military ruler.
The official tally indicated the opposition leader had built up a two million vote lead on sitting President Goodluck Jonathan with the results in half the states declared.
To win, Mr Buhari needs not only the most votes but at least 25% in two-thirds of Nigerian states to avoid a run-off.
But this is the fourth attempt by the former general at claiming the presidential prize and he has accused the ruling PDP Party of rigging the vote in all three previous contests.
This time has been no different he said, although he told us he remained optimistic that the attempts to manipulate the ballot would be fruitless and the outcome would still be favourable for his party.
He is not alone, however, in his concerns about rigging.
The British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and his American counterpart John Kerry issued a joint statement warning that there were "disturbing indications that the collation process - where the votes are finally counted - may be subject to deliberate political interference".
If the second half of the results appear to diverge dramatically from the estimates made by independent observers, there will be mounting calls of skullduggery.
The 72-year-old challenger admitted to being a little tired after an election campaign which saw him visit 35 out of the country's 36 states as well as travelling to London to talk to British opinion-makers.
He spoke passionately about his desire to restore morale amongst his countrymen and women, crackdown on Nigeria's rampant corruption and rout Boko Haram.
He has repeatedly tried to lay to rest the ghosts of his past on the campaign trail after obtaining a reputation as a hardline military ruler when he first took up the presidential reins in 1983 after the army ousted the elected leader in a coup.
He himself was deposed in another coup two years later and jailed.
Since then Mr Buhari says he has undergone a dramatic conversion from military dictator to democracy-lover.
It was the fall of the Soviet empire - achieved without the "firing of one bullet" - which he attributes to his dramatic political change of heart.
Now though, with Nigeria's soldiers largely demoralised and complaining of poor pay, few weapons and little leadership, and a violent extremist insurgency in the north, suddenly his military background is becoming a positive asset.
Mr Buhari said: "With my background as a military man, we have to restore morale, with retraining and reorganisation.
"I am confident the military will respond favourably to me.
"Nigeria has the capacity to deal with Boko Haram.
"Nigerians are being killed in their hundreds every day and our (current) leadership sleeps soundly.
"I assure you that wouldn't happen under my leadership."
An official from Mr Buhari's camp told us on the way out: "We don't want Goodluck.
"We tell our supporters to wish us the best of luck instead."
The smiles seemed to suggest they believe they have both the luck and the votes to clinch this contest.
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