Senate candidate killed three days before election in Nigeria

A senatorial candidate from Nigeria's opposition Labour Party was killed late on Wednesday by unknown gunmen in southeastern Enugu State, a local party official said on Thursday, the latest violent incident ahead of a momentous national election.

Nigerians are due to elect their next president and lawmakers on Saturday. President Muhammadu Buhari is stepping down after serving the maximum two terms allowed by the constitution.

The three-man race to be his successor is seen as the most unpredictable in recent history and the run-up to the election has been marred by violence, a pattern seen in previous polls in Africa's most populous country.

Police confirmed the killing of Labour Party candidate Oyibo Chukwu, which came hours after the parties and presidential candidates signed a pledge to support a peaceful electoral process.

Chinwuba Ngwu, the Labour Party chairman in the Enugu South local government area, said Chukwu had been ambushed and killed as he travelled back from a campaign event.

"He was shot dead and then set ablaze in his vehicle with his driver and one of his boys," Ngwu said.

"It is a devastating development for us. We are suspecting political assassination because he is favoured to win the election," he said.

A police spokesperson in Enugu State said they would issue a statement later.

U.S. President Joe Biden earlier called for a peaceful, transparent election, urging parties and candidates to accept the results when they are published by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

"All Nigerians deserve this chance to choose their future — freely and fairly," Biden said in a statement.

"While the United States does not support any single candidate or party, we strongly support a peaceful and transparent process that reflects the will of the people of Nigeria."

The main candidates for president are former Lagos governor Bola Tinubu, 70, who represents the ruling party, former vice president Atiku Abubakar, 76, who represents the main opposition party that was in power from 1999 to 2015, and Peter Obi, 61, an anti-establishment candidate popular among many young voters.

Obi, an ethnic Igbo, is running on the Labour Party ticket. He is particularly popular in the Igbo heartland in southeastern Nigeria, which includes Enugu State, and this may have boosted the lesser known party's profile in the region.

By Estelle Shirbon, Reuters

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President Biden calls for peaceful, transparent election in Nigeria

U.S. President Joe Biden called on Thursday for Nigeria's imminent presidential election to be peaceful and transparent, urging candidates and parties to accept the results as announced by the country's electoral commission.

More than 93 million Nigerians, out of a total population of over 200 million, are registered to vote in Saturday's presidential and parliamentary election, seen as the most wide open since the country returned to democracy in 1999.

"I commend yesterday's peace accord in Nigeria," Biden said in a statement, referring to a pledge signed by all candidates on Wednesday to seek redress through the courts for any grievances.

"By signing this pledge, the parties and candidates have committed to accept the results of the election, as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and to support a peaceful transition of power," he said.

Nigeria has a long history of electoral fraud and violence, though its elections have got gradually cleaner in the near quarter century since it moved away from army rule. INEC says it has taken measures to ensure voting will be free and fair.

"All Nigerians deserve this chance to choose their future — freely and fairly," Biden said.

"While the United States does not support any single candidate or party, we strongly support a peaceful and transparent process that reflects the will of the people of Nigeria."

Nigeria is Africa's most populous nation, its biggest economy and its top producer of crude oil. 

By Estelle Shirbon, Reuters

Related story: President Buhari sets transition to a new leader in motion

 

Peace Pact signed by Presidential candidates in Nigeria days before polling

The 18 presidential candidates of Nigeria’s general election have signed a second peace accord in the capital, Abuja, in a bid to prevent unrest surrounding the February 25 polls.

The pact is to ensure “the conduct of free, fair, credible, transparent and verifiable elections cognisant of the need to maintain a peaceful environment before, during and after the 2023 general elections” and “to place national interest above personal and partisan concerns”.

An earlier agreement had been signed in September 2022, which former military head of state and retired general Abdusalam Abubakar said had been violated numerous times.

The Tuesday evening signing, organised by the National Peace Committee and the Kukah Leadership Centre, an Abuja-based think tank, was in the presence of President Muhammadu Buhari and other African and international leaders and diplomats.

Committee officials said the accord was meant to bind political parties, candidates and their supporters to resort to constitutional means if they are dissatisfied with electoral outcomes.

Abubakar, the chairperson of the National Peace Committee, said 44 percent of the September accord’s violations “were carried out by the spokespersons for political parties, 26 percent by party members, 19 percent by the presidential candidates themselves, 11 percent by the hardcore supporters and four percent by the chairmen of the parties”.

“As a nation, we’ve got to put a stop to all this,” he said, without providing further details about the incidents.

Saturday’s race to succeed Buhari is being keenly contested.

Among the 18 candidates, four are generally accepted to be top contenders.

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, former Lagos governor Bola Tinubu, faces his former associate and Nigeria’s former vice president Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

The Labour Party’s Peter Obi, has, however, emerged as a surprise third candidate to challenge a traditional dichotomy in Nigeria’s political landscape. A fourth candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), is seen as a wild card in the race.

Tuesday’s signing was held in the presence of domestic and international stakeholders to monitor for potential violence – a common feature in Nigerian elections.

Along with the presidential candidates, members of observer missions from the African Union, European Union and the Commonwealth, and other diplomats were present at the signing.


Also present were Thabo Mbeki, Joyce Banda, Uhuru Kenyatta, John Mahama and Ernest Bai Koroma, the former presidents of South Africa, Malawi, Kenya, Ghana and Sierra Leone respectively who are heading foreign observer missions.

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, another member of the committee also attended, as was Patricia Scott, secretary-general of the Commonwealth and a representative of the United Nations secretary-general.

President Buhari urged all the contestants to have the “confidence to trust our legal systems”.

”Let me remind all Nigerians not for the first time that this is the only country we have and we must do everything to keep it safe, united and peaceful,” he said. “There should be no riots or acts of violence after the announcement of the election results. All grievances, personal or institutional, should be channelled to the relevant courts.”

Mahmood Yakubu, the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, said election preparations were well under way with ballot papers and other materials being moved to polling units nationwide.

“By Friday we will activate the registration area centres so that at first light on Saturday, polling units will open on time.” 

Al Jazeera

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Video - Possible violence ahead of polls opening in Nigeria

Video - Next President of Nigeria has a full plate already

Depleted revenue, a high debt profile and a huge budget deficit are among several economic woes that the next Nigerian President will be confronted with. The West African country goes to polls this Saturday.

CGTN

54% of currency in Nigeria no longer in circulation

Nigeria currently has about 1.39 trillion of its currency in circulation, after cutting off an estimated 1.6 trillion in just a month.

This 54% drop is part of the Central Bank’s governor's initiative to inflate the value of Nigeria’s currency, the Naira. In January, the money in circulation totaled N3.1 trillion.

Subsequently, the currency outside the vaults of banks has also been cut down by 69.3%, jumping from N2.56 trillion to N788.92 within the same month.

In December, the governor of the Central Bank Godwin Emefiele alongside the president of the country, Muhammad Buhari, revealed the new redesigned legal tenders for the N200, N500, and N1000 notes.

This redesign according to the governor was to recover the lost value of the naira. The governor disclosed that the Naira was depreciating because most of the country’s cash was being hoarded outside banking halls.

This, in his assessment, amongst other factors, devalued the naira. As a result, some of the country’s legal tender were redesigned, and the governor gave a short deadline for the return of the old notes.

The first deadline was a little over a month after unveiling the redesigned notes on the 31st of January, which would eventually be extended to the 7th of February.

After massive bouts of civil unrest across the country and a disagreement with the country’s supreme court, which ruled that the deadline be extended, the CBN governor and the president of Nigeria insisted that the deadline would stand, and the redesigned notes would be the country’s official legal tender.

As result, the CBN has managed to reduce the level of hoarded cash outside of banking halls, by a significant margin. This refusal to budge under pressure has also made Nigerians more receptive to the idea of a cashless economy. Now more than ever, Nigerians have keyed into the idea of transacting business via transfers.

In the same period under review, Nigeria’s money supply rose to N53.27 trillion, a 2.2% increase compared to the previous month.

Chinedu Okafor, Business Insider Africa

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