write an essay on the 2023 presidential election in nigeria

Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election: 10 factors that could affect the outcome

Professor of International Relations and Political Science, Nasarawa State University, Keffi

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Jideofor Adibe does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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As Nigerians inch closer to the February 2023 presidential election, the seventh since the current wave of liberal democracy formally started in 1999, there are at least 10 key issues that are likely to drive and determine the outcome. Political scientist, Jideofor Adibe, explores them all.

1. Ethnicity and regionalism

Four of the 18 presidential candidates in the election, regarded as the front runners, come from the three dominant ethnic groups in the country: Hausa/Fulani, Yoruba and Igbo.

From the north are Atiku Abubakar , a former vice-president of the country (1999-2007) and the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party ; and Rabi'u Musa Kwankwaso , a former governor of Kano State and the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party .

Bola Ahmed Tinubu , a Yoruba from the south-west, is the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress . Peter Obi , an Igbo from the south-east and former governor of Anambra State, is the presidential candidate of the Labour Party .

Since the 1999 election, there has been an unwritten convention that presidential power will rotate every eight years between the northern and southern parts of the country. That’s why many individuals and groups from both the north and the south insist that President Muhammadu Buhari must be succeeded by someone from the south.

Some individuals and groups from the south-east further argue that because the zone has not yet produced a president, it should get its turn in 2023.

Some from the north-east, where Atiku comes from, equally argue that it should be their turn since the zone has not produced a national head since Tafawa Balewa , the country’s first and only prime minister, in the 1960s.

2. Religion

Just like ethnicity and regionalism, religion has always been an important tool of mobilisation and discord in Nigeria.

Since 1999 there has also been a careful balancing act to ensure that the president and the vice-president do not share the same religion. While the north is predominantly Muslim, the south is predominantly Christian.

This balance was upset when Bola Tinubu , a Yoruba Muslim, chose Kashim Shettima , a Kanuri Muslim and former governor of Borno State, as his running mate. Many Nigerians and groups, including the Christian Association of Nigeria strongly condemned the ticket.

Read more: Africa’s largest democracy goes to the polls amid rising insecurity

3. Emergence of ‘viable’ third force parties

Until 2015, Nigeria’s political landscape was dominated by one party – the People’s Democratic Party. It was the only party strong enough to win presidential elections.

This changed in 2015 when the All Progressives Congress, a coalition of opposition parties, defeated the sitting president, Goodluck Jonathan. This heralded an era of a two-party dominant state.

The emergence of the Labour Party and the New Nigeria People’s Party seems to have changed the electoral dynamics.

Obi frames his campaign on anti-establishment rhetoric and is therefore able to attract a horde of frustrated young voters . As the only Christian among the four leading candidates, Obi may also benefit electorally from Christians opposed to Muslim-Muslim ticket of the ruling APC. At least three opinion polls showed him leading the race, though some have questioned the credibility of those polls.

Kwankwaso, founder of the Kwankwasiya movement , is regarded as a grassroots organiser. He is believed to be popular with ordinary people in the north but is thought to lack a strong following in the south.

Burden of history

Obi’s candidacy has been endorsed by Ohanaeze Ndigbo , the pan-Igbo socio-political organisation, and some influential non-Igbo groups and individuals, including former president Olusegun Obasanjo .

In the south-east region, there is a deeply ingrained belief that there is a conspiracy to exclude the Igbo from certain key political positions in the country because of their role in the Civil War (1967-1970). This belief has helped fuel secessionist agitations . Though the political elite of the region have remained aloof or lukewarm to Obi’s candidacy, he is literally deified by ordinary people in the region who are excited by the “audacity” of his candidacy.

Presidential debates

In recent years, various groups have been organising debates for key political contestants in the country. Tinubu, touted as a master tactician by his supporters, has managed to evade these debates. After a speech to an audience in the UK in December 2022, he left it to his aides to respond to most of the questions he was asked.

I have argued elsewhere that presidential debates do not really affect the outcome of presidential elections. In fact leading candidates often refuse to take part in some or all of such debates. But Tinubu’s non-appearance accentuates suspicions about his health and several controversies around him.

Read more: Nigeria's next president faces a collapsing security situation: five things he can do

Independence of the electoral umpire and the new Electoral Act

The independence of the Independent National Electoral Commission has long been contested . Incidents like the burning or stealing of some of the commission’s materials, fake names on the electoral register and under-age registrations in some parts of the country raise questions about its possible connivance.

The 2022 Electoral Act introduced innovations like the electronic transmission of results from the polling units and the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System . These were intended to curb rigging. But some political forces are believed to be opposed to their use.

The general insecurity in Nigeria may make it difficult, if not impossible, to conduct credible elections in some parts of the country. That could affect the electoral fortunes of candidates who regard such areas as their strongholds.

Money is crucial in any election, especially in Nigeria, where the high level of poverty means that people need financial support before they can even attend campaign rallies. Vote-trading has also become a prominent feature of elections. Despite measures to improve the transparency of the electoral system, it is likely that money will remain a big factor in the 2023 election.

Read more: Votes for cash: the significance of vote buying in Nigeria’s democracy

Crises and schisms within the parties

Nigerian political parties tend to be special purpose vehicles for winning elections or positioning individuals for political appointments. That’s why there tends to be sharp divisions and crises within parties, even the smaller ones. The degree of cohesiveness of the frontline political parties will affect their chances in the election.

The unknown

In any engagement, there is always an unforeseen variable which may change the game. Military tacticians call it fog of war while the religiously inclined call it the Act of God. Until the votes are counted, a victor is announced and the inevitable court challenges are resolved, there is still the possibility of an event that could alter the election’s outcome.

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Understanding the 2023 Nigerian Presidential and National Assembly Elections

Nigeria’s next elected president will lead the country into celebrating 63 years as an independent nation on 1 October 2023. In that time, Nigerians have seen attempts at democracy interrupted three times, but democracy has been the system of government for the last 24 years, with the 25 February 2023 polls the seventh since 1999. In that time, Nigeria has witnessed two presidents stand down after serving the constitutional limit of two terms (2007 and 2023) as well as an electoral defeat for an incumbent (2015).

For the presidential and national assembly elections on 25 February 2023, CDD deployed over 4,900 trained and accredited observers to systematically monitor the polls across all 36 states of the federation and the federal capital territory (FCT). These insights, supported by analysis by our data clerks, the work of fact-checkers and social media monitors, and the expertise and input of leading analysts provide the basis for this report on the elections. The CDD Election Analysis Centre (EAC) analytical approach was anchored on providing deep insights into how six sets of interconnected variables namely Identity, Insecurity, Institutions, Information Disorder, Intra and Inter Party Contestations and Infrastructure shaped the outcome of the elections. Based on data generated on these interrelated issues, four key themes emerged prominent- election day operational challenges and the use of technology, violence and voter suppression, voter behaviour and the influence of money, and online falsehoods. These four key issues provide reflections on emerging trends from the election process, as well as recommendations for improving future processes in the short, medium and long time.

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Nigerian Election 2023 and Bola Tinubu’s Victory: What to Know

Mr. Tinubu, a divisive figure in Nigerian politics, was declared the winner of the presidential race in Africa’s most populous country.

By Ruth Maclean and Elian Peltier

Reporting from Abuja and Lagos, Nigeria

Main candidates

Labour Party

Bola Tinubu

All Progressives Congress

Atiku Abubakar

People’s Democratic Party

Rabiu Kwankwaso

New Nigeria People’s Party

Bola Tinubu, a perennial political kingmaker in Nigeria’s politics, was declared the winner of the presidential election on Wednesday after a tight race marred by accusations of vote rigging and the lowest turnout ever recorded in a presidential contest in the country.

Nigeria is home to about 220 million people, and what happens there reverberates across Africa and the globe. More than 87 million people were eligible to vote, the election commission said — the most ever.

The Giant of Africa, as Nigeria is known, is at an inflection point. During nearly eight years of rule by an ailing president, Muhammadu Buhari — a military dictator turned reformed democrat — the country has lurched from one economic shock to the next. Mr. Buhari has reached his two-term limit and did not run for re-election. Over 60 percent of the population lives in poverty , while security crises — including kidnapping , terrorism, militancy in oil-rich areas and clashes between herders and farmers — have multiplied.

Final results showed Mr. Tinubu winning the election with 8.7 million votes, or about 36 percent of the vote, avoiding a runoff. Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition People’s Democratic Party got 6.9 million votes, and Peter Obi took 6.1 million. Under Nigerian law, to win, a candidate must win the most votes, as well as at least 25 percent of the vote in two-thirds of the nation’s 36 states.

Mr. Obi, a surprise third-party candidate popular among young Nigerians, narrowly won the race in Lagos State, home to the country’s largest city, in a blow to Mr. Tinubu.

The slow uploading of results on the website of the electoral commission has raised concerns that ballot rigging could once again tarnish an election. The voter turnout this year dropped to 27 percent, from 35 percent in 2019.

On Tuesday, Mr. Obi’s Labour Party and the Peoples Democratic Party, led by Mr. Abubakar, called for the election to be canceled and rerun, citing vote rigging. As of Wednesday morning, they had not reacted to the final results.

In recent weeks, shortages of fuel and cash — the money because of a rushed currency redesign — have caused widespread suffering. Even people with money in the bank cannot access it, and many are unable to buy food or pay for necessities. Protests in some cities have turned violent.

Many analysts said that the sudden currency redesign had been intended to stop politicians from hoarding cash to buy votes. On Friday, the Nigerian police announced that they had arrested an opposition party legislator in southern Nigeria with nearly $500,000 in cash in his car and a list of intended recipients for the bills.

Not since the rebirth of Nigeria’s democracy in 1999 had the country faced an election as nail-biting — and as wide open — as this one.

Who were the main candidates?

There was Mr. Tinubu, 70, Nigeria’s president-elect, who as the candidate of the governing All Progressives Congress had serious political machinery behind him. Mr. Tinubu, a canny, multimillionaire former governor of Lagos, Nigeria’s biggest city, is a Muslim from the southwest and boasts that he brought Mr. Buhari to power. His catchphrase, “Emi lo kan” — Yoruba for “It’s my turn” — speaks to his record as a kingmaker in Nigerian politics, but alienates many young voters.

Mr. Abubakar, a former vice president and multimillionaire businessman, was the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, or P.D.P. Mr. Abubakar, 76, has run for the presidency five times since 1993, and this year may have been his last shot. A Muslim from the north, he hoped to pick up far more votes there than he has in the past, especially as he did not have to run against his old nemesis, Mr. Buhari, who had an ardent northern following.

The surprise candidate was Mr. Obi, 61. Hailed as a savior by a large chunk of Nigeria’s digitally savvy youth, Mr. Obi — a Christian and former governor from the southeast who hitched his wagon to the lesser-known Labour Party — threw this election open. His fans — mostly young, southern Nigerians walloped by economic hardship, joblessness and insecurity — call themselves the Obidients.

Those three were the leading contenders among the 18 candidates in all.

What did pre-election polling show (or not show)?

Several polls taken before election day put Mr. Obi ahead of his rivals — some by a wide margin . But what many of the surveys had in common was that a large proportion of people polled refused to say who they would vote for or said that they were undecided.

One poll , by the data and intelligence company Stears, tried to solve this problem by making an informed guess about which way the “silent voters” would cast their ballots based on their profiles and how they responded to other questions.

Stears found that if, as in 2019, few people showed up at the polls, Mr. Tinubu would be by far the more likely winner, which is eventually what happened. Despite close results, the turnout was lower than the 2019 election.

How turnout could change Nigerian election results

Low turnout

High turnout

Low turnout scenario

High turnout scenario

What were the top issues?

Nearly 90 percent of Nigerians say they believe that the country is going in the wrong direction, according to a recent survey by Afrobarometer — by far the worst perception it has ever recorded in Nigeria. For many, this election seemed like a last-ditch chance to rescue the country.

A nation bursting with entrepreneurs and creative talent, Nigeria is held back by rampant insecurity, widespread unemployment, persistent corruption and a stagnating economy, which together mean that simply surviving can be a major struggle. Young, middle-class Nigerians trying to escape this life are leaving the country in droves.

What was different about this ballot?

Recent changes in the voting system — using biometric data to ensure voters’ identities and sending results electronically rather than manually — were put in place to prevent the tampering and vote rigging that have undermined previous elections.

There was no incumbent on the ballot, and for the first time in decades, there were major candidates from each of Nigeria’s three main ethnic groups: Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa-Fulani.

All the usual, if unofficial, rules of Nigerian elections were blown apart:

It’s a battle between the two established parties — Mr. Obi broke this one when he lost the P.D.P. ticket to Mr. Abubakar but insisted on running anyway, and joined another party.

The presidency is supposed to alternate between the north and the south, and so parties should field candidates accordingly — Mr. Buhari is a northerner, so Mr. Abubakar was expected to let a southerner helm his party. But he did not. (Mr. Tinubu is from the southwest.)

There should be a Muslim and a Christian on the ticket — Mr. Tinubu, a Muslim, bulldozed through this rule by picking a Muslim from the northeast as his running mate.

What did a candidate need to win?

A plurality, plus 25 percent of the vote in two-thirds of the nation’s 36 states. If no candidate achieves this, the election goes to a runoff — which has not happened since democracy returned.

Turnout was extremely low in 2019 — around 35 percent of registered voters cast a ballot in that election, mostly because of insecurity, logistical problems and apathy. More than 12 million new voters registered this year, according to the electoral commission , most of them young people, but that wasn’t enough to avoid an even lower voter turnout. Of the 87 million allowed to cast a ballot, fewer than 25 million did.

Ruth Maclean is the West Africa bureau chief for The New York Times, based in Senegal. She joined The Times in 2019 after three and a half years covering West Africa for The Guardian. More about Ruth Maclean

Elian Peltier is the West Africa correspondent. He joined The Times in 2017 and was previously based in Paris and London. He now lives in Dakar, Senegal. More about Elian Peltier

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Nigeria’s 2023 Presidential Elections: What Happened and What Next?

Date: , location: .

A country of about 200+million people, 250 ethnic groups, 18 political parties, 4 frontline candidates spread across the three major ethnicities, with about 94 million registered voters, and almost 40 percent of these voters being under 35, Nigeria’s recently concluded 2023 presidential elections have been deemed as an epochal moment in the history of its democracy. Events leading up to the election- the electoral process, results of the election, and the declaration of the winner-, have been at the vanguard of several political debates. Ensuing events - protests from aggrieved political parties, legal challenges to the legitimacy of the elections, and varying dissenting opinions across the Nigerian populace, remain closely monitored by local, regional, and international observers. Join us as we x-ray ongoing events and analyze the aftermath on the Nigerian polity.  Nigerian food will be served!

Speakers: Rita Kiki Edozie ,  Interim Dean, The John W. McCormack School of Policy and Global Studies; Professor of Global Governance, Department of Conflict Resolution, Human Security, and Global Governance, University of Massachusetts, Boston. Robert I. Rotberg ,  Founding Director, Program on Intrastate Conflict, Harvard Kennedy School; President Emeritus, World Peace Foundation (1993-2010). Moderators: Gbemisola Abiola ,  Graduate Student Associate.  PhD Candidate, Department of African and African American Studies and Department of Anthropology, Harvard University. Destiny Ogedegbe ,  LLM candidate, Harvard Law School.

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Nigeria election 2023: what are the issues and why is this vote different?

People will go the polls on Saturday in what is seen as a potential turning point for Africa’s most populous country

When do Nigerians go to the polls and what are they voting for?

On Saturday, up to 94 million voters in Africa’s most populous country and biggest economy will cast their ballots to elect lawmakers and the president. It’s the seventh election since the end of military rule in 1999, and an exercise involving enormous expenditure and logistics, keenly watched across the continent and beyond.

Why does the election matter?

Nigeria faces a host of serious challenges: growing insecurity, a struggling economy, massive debt, deep poverty and a corrupt political class – and this moment is genuinely seen as a potential turning point, with hopes that a fair and credible poll may alter the country’s trajectory for the better, allowing its youthful, creative and entrepreneurial energy to be harnessed for the good of all. Alternatively, it could lead Nigeria towards a very difficult future.

Nigeria is regionally dominant and a keystone state in Africa. Matthew Page, an expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace , describes the election as a chance for Nigeria’s democratic process “to send a proof-of-life message to the world”. With democracy in retreat across the continent, some analysts say a good election in Nigeria would revitalise the hopes of democratic reformers in other countries, with many of the issues resonating elsewhere.

Everyone recognises that the next decade is vital for the country, which is forecast to become the third -most populous in the world, behind India and China, by 2045.

What have been the issues for voters in the buildup to the vote?

The most obvious are security, with violent crime that was once restricted to more marginal areas now reaching into major urban centres, and the economy, as most people are considerably worse off now than they were in 2015 when the outgoing president, Muhammadu Buhari, started the first of his two terms. Corruption is also an issue for voters.

In recent weeks, a self-inflicted crisis after a poorly executed effort by authorities to replace the country’s banknotes has brought acute hardship and inconvenience. With naira currency so scarce, the poorest simply cannot buy basic foodstuffs or travel to vote. Many are adapting, but only slowly. In the meantime, “people are cashless and desperate … That is adding to tensions around the poll,” says Nnamdi Obasi , the International Crisis Group’s Nigeria-based expert.

What is different about this election?

A lot. One big difference is the size of the electorate, with 10 million more registered voters than in 2019, including many who are very young. A second big change from earlier polls is that the two main parties that have dominated Nigerian politics for decades – the ruling All Progressives Congress and the People’s Democratic party – have been challenged by a third credible contender: Peter Obi is an energetic 61-year-old who appears a generation younger than his main rivals, Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar, who are in their 70s and look increasingly frail. More than anything, Obi represents a new kind of politics, reaching out beyond Nigeria’s sectarian and ethnic divides with the promise of dynamic, clean and efficient governance. Whether he will be able to fulfil that if he wins is another question. A final difference is new voting technology, which should cut down on rigging.

Many opinion polls have given Obi a substantial lead, and there is no doubt that the wealthy businessman turned politician has run a very effective campaign. However, analysts and ruling party officials say Obi may have difficulty converting “virtual” support on social media and among the young into enough votes to beat the vast patronage networks, deep pockets and powerful political organisation of his rivals.

Much depends on turnout, which has been woefully low in recent elections. Last year, before Obi launched his campaign, a survey found that just 39% of Nigerians felt close to a political party, a sharp decline compared with 2015. If more than two voters in five reach the voting booths, this will be seen as a boost to Obi’s chances, possibly signalling a wave of support.

When will we get a result?

Official results could take up to five days to be announced after the polls close, but the turnout should become clearer much earlier, along with some of the counts. This should give a sense within 36 to 48 hours of who will lead Nigeria.

Nigerian electoral law makes a runoff unlikely, as the winning candidate needs only a simple majority, provided they get 25% of the vote in at least two-thirds of the 36 states.

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How Nigerian youth are galvanising for upcoming presidential vote

More than a third of Nigeria’s 93.4 million registered voters are young people who are gearing up to vote after years of low turnouts. What has changed?

Lagos, Nigeria – Onyinye Odinmah is excited about voting for the first time as Nigeria’s presidential election nears.

After two months of long waits at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office in Shomolu, Lagos, she secured a biometric Permanent Voters Card (PVC), becoming one of a record 10 million new registered voters ahead of the February 25 election.

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Of that number, 84 percent are aged 18 to 34, according to INEC. Young people in that demographic represent more than a third of 93.4 million registered voters – the highest compared with previous elections .

“I didn’t get my PVC and [didn’t] vote in the last election [in 2019] because I felt they already knew what the outcome would be, and our votes do not count,” Odinmah, a 26-year-old guidance counsellor based in Lagos, told Al Jazeera.

“It’s different this time because I participated in EndSARS [protests of October 2020]. I felt there was no need to start complaining but to do the right thing [vote],” she added.

A tipping point

Nigeria has one of the highest population growth rates globally and more than two-thirds of its citizens are below the age of 30.

Some refused to vote or even register to do so in previous election cycles for multiple reasons ranging from fear of violence during elections to a trust deficit in state institutions and others.

The 2019 presidential election witnessed the lowest turnout since Nigeria’s return to democratic government in 1999 – only a third of registered voters showed up at polling units.

But it followed a pattern of routinely low participation in the process – only twice has voter turnout reached or surpassed 50 percent of total registered voters since Nigeria’s first presidential elections in 1979.

But now, an increasing number of Nigerians, especially those who have become eligible to vote since the 2019 general elections, seem willing to do so , more than ever before.

Nigeria has also suffered two recessions in the eight years of the Muhammadu Buhari presidency, a situation worsened by incessant fuel scarcity , an energy deficit and cash shortages .

That has led to many seeking change.

But the October 2020 nationwide protests against the extrajudicial torture and killings by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) police unit, which trended as #EndSARS on social media, spearheaded by young people has been pinpointed as a tipping point.

At least a dozen people were killed and an unknown number of others wounded – according to Amnesty International – after the army opened fire on protesters as they sang the national anthem at a known national landmark in an upscale Lagos neighbourhood.

The massacre remains etched in the minds of many Nigerians, especially as police brutality and impunity continue to date.

Since then, young Nigerians have been mobilising online and offline due to civic education from civil society organisations and other volunteer communities.

“It [#EndSARS protests] underscored for young people the need for direct engagement with the political and electoral system to reform and get it to be responsive to their needs,” Ikemesit Effiong, head of research at Lagos-based geopolitical consultancy SBM Intelligence, told Al Jazeera.

The widespread discontent with the state of governance has also galvanised the youth to vote after lecturers in public universities went on strike for eight months last year because of a wage dispute with the authorities.

It was the 16th strike in 23 years – much to the chagrin of students nationwide. According to INEC, 40 percent of the newly registered voters are students.

“It is now clear to young people that elections do have consequences, and that era of sitting at home on elections day, watching TV, and playing football rather than exercising their civic responsibility is now over,” Stanley Achonu, country director for ONE Campaign, told Al Jazeera.

‘The presence of Peter Obi’

Ahead of the polls, the traditional dominance of Nigeria’s two parties – the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) and the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) since Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999 – is being strongly challenged for the first time.

Last May, Peter Obi, a two-time governor of the southeastern state of Anambra, left the PDP for the lesser-known Labour Party (LP) to challenge flagbearers of the two major parties: Ahmed Bola Tinubu of APC and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of PDP.

A fourth candidate, the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP)’s Rabiu Kwankwaso , is also seen as a wildcard in the presidential race.

Obi, a wealthy businessman, has long gained a reputation for being frugal and accountable. His message of prudent management of national resources has resonated with many young people who see his opponents as symbolic of the established order in Nigeria where corruption seems endemic.

Analysts say Obi’s emergence has galvanised hitherto apathetic voters to participate in the country’s electoral process.

“The presence of Peter Obi on the ballot is a significant investment in political education which has driven voter registrations to record levels and a motivated lower income class, which will lead to a rise in turnout,” said Effiong.

The role of social media

Young Nigerians have long relied on social media to get information and gauge public opinion as smartphone penetration rates increase and internet connectivity costs decrease in the country. In 2015, the APC co-opted social media for campaigns that helped end the PDP’s 16-year grip on democratic power.

During the #EndSARS demonstrations, social media played a vital role in getting young people on the streets to protest. Since then, they have congregated on social media networking sessions, getting an education on the country’s governance and electoral process from influencers and political groups.

Olisaemeka Nwosu, a first-time voter and Lagos-based product manager, participated in the anti-police brutality protests and attended different virtual conversations on the need to vote.

“The Instagram Live series of celebrities like Falz and Mr Macaroni [two popular Nigerian activists] on the need for political participation inspired my decision [to get a PVC and vote],” he told Al Jazeera.

Particularly of note are Obi supporters, who call themselves “Obidient” who have capitalised on the power of social media to entice new believers and create a groundswell of support for their preferred candidate.

They have formed groups on WhatsApp and Facebook, raising funding to pay for logistics on the ground to convince more people to register and vote for Obi.

“The 10 million new registered voters is directly tied to the Obidient Movement,” Joseph Onuorah, a founding member of the WhatsApp group Obidient Movement, claims.

“The messaging was united across all the support groups. To change Nigeria, we need to elect Peter Obi, to achieve that starts with going to get your PVC,” he told Al Jazeera.

Volunteer groups with no political affiliations have been offering taxi people free rides to pick up their voter cars across Lagos and a number of other cities.

To win the Nigerian presidency, a candidate has to garner the highest votes and at least 25 percent in 24 of the 36 states.

Several polls have projected an Obi win in the February 25 vote.

But his critics deride him as a “social media candidate” and call the projections “social media polls”, saying the Labour Party needs a nationwide structure to get a national spread of votes.

His supporters disagree.

“Obi is a breath of fresh air,” said Odinmah, who convinced her sister to get a voter card and is talking to her friends who have theirs, on the need to vote.

At the INEC office in Somolu where she retrieved her voter card, most of the others in the queue were youths, she told Al Jazeera.

“I’m so happy seeing young people go out against all odds to get their PVC and vote right this time,” she told Al Jazeera. “It feels good to be part of a revolution like this.”

INEC Releases Comprehensive 2023 General Election Report

Gloria thomas, abuja.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Nigeria’s electoral umpire has made public the comprehensive report of the 2023 General Election after its weekly meeting.

National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, mni, said ‘ this comprehensive 526-page document, structured into 13 chapters and enhanced with 60 tables, 14 boxes and 10 graphs, offers an in-depth analysis of the election’s key processes, achievements, and challenges, alongside valuable lessons learned.”

Olimekun noted that the report showcased the election’s unparalleled diversity in party representation, demonstrating significant democratic progress.

“ This election saw four political parties winning gubernatorial races, seven parties winning senatorial seats, eight in federal constituencies and nine in State legislatures, illustrating a broad shift in political representation across Nigeria. “

Electoral integrity

In a press statement announcing the release of the publication, he explained that “ the report underscores the pivotal role of technological advancements, particularly the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), in enhancing electoral integrity and reducing fraud. Furthermore, it addresses public concerns about the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal, explaining the technical issues encountered during the upload of polling unit results for the presidential electio n.”

Other aspects covered in the report include logistics, security arrangements, staff recruitment and training, inclusivity measures, and the electoral framework.

The the 2024 General Election document has been made accessible on the INEC website (www.inecnigeria.org) and social media platforms.

The Commission says it welcomes feedback to inform future electoral reforms and improvements.

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