Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Video - Results trickle in Nigeria, incumbent Buhari with slight lead over Atiku
President Muhamadu Buhari has taken an early lead with 1.3 million votes. His closest challenger, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has one-point-one million votes. The result could change as more results are expected to be tallied over night. Voting was extended to Sunday in several states to allow voters who were unable to vote on the election day late delivery of polling materials.
President Buhari leads vote in Nigerian elections as apposition cries foul
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari held the edge in early election results that the main opposition party claimed were being manipulated following a vote marred by delays and at least 39 deaths.
After results from 11 of Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Buhari led his main challenger, Atiku Abubakar, by a 51 percent to 46 percent margin, according to data announced on Monday by the Independent National Electoral Commission in the capital, Abuja. The final vote tally is expected Tuesday or Wednesday.
With his strong support in the northwest, the region with the greatest number of registered voters, Buhari’s prospects of winning re-election are bright, said Max Siollun, a Nigerian historian based in New York.
“The results so far will give Buhari and his supporters great confidence -- it will take a tectonic shift in result patterns for Atiku to win,” he said in an emailed response to questions. “If the north-western results as expected show heavy voting there for Buhari, then a Buhari victory will be a near certainty.”
The presidential and parliamentary election in Africa’s top oil producer was the continent’s biggest-ever democratic exercise. Almost 73 million people were eligible to vote Saturday in what analysts thought would be a tight race mainly between Buhari, an ex-general who campaigned on an anti-graft platform, and Abubakar, a 72-year-old businessman and former vice president.
The chairman of Abubakar’s People’s Democratic Party, Uche Secondus, accused the government of using “inducements, manipulation and incarcerations” and enlisting the police and national army “to silence the voices of our long suffering people.” In a statement, he threatened to challenge some results.
Buhari’s All Progressives Congress rejected the claims in a statement, accusing the PDP of trying to “discredit and destabilize” the electoral process.
The election pitted two men of contrasting economic views, with Buhari, who favors a strong government role, against Abubakar, a pro-market multimillionaire who has said he would float the national currency and sell stakes in the state oil company.
Wall Street banks such as Citigroup Inc. had said Nigerian equities and bonds will probably rally if Abubakar wins. The stock market closed up 0.6 percent in Lagos on Monday to extend its gains this year to 4 percent.
Election Day Fatalities
At least 39 people were killed in election-related violence, Clement Nwankwo, the chairman of Situation Room, a monitoring group, told reporters Monday in Abuja. The inspector general of police, who didn’t give a death toll, said 128 people were arrested for offenses such as homicide and snatching of ballot boxes. INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu said an election worker was killed by a stray bullet in Rivers state.
“Serious operational shortcomings placed undue burden on voters,” the European Union observer mission said, while the African Union called the vote “largely peaceful and orderly.”
To win, a candidate must get the majority of votes and at least 25 percent in two-thirds of Nigeria’s 36 states and Federal Capital Territory. Otherwise, there’ll be a second round.
While Buhari was likely to win in the north, Abubakar was expected to dominate in the south-east and south-south, two of Nigeria’s six so-called geopolitical zones, where Buhari has long been unpopular. The south-west, which includes the commercial capital of Lagos, and the north-central zones were potential swing areas.
Abubakar’s PDP suffered an early blow when one of its highest-profile politicians, Senate President Bukola Saraki, lost his seat in the southwestern state of Kwara to the candidate from Buhari’s APC, according to INEC results.
“Whilst the environment was tense and divisive, overall, fundamental freedoms of association, expression, assembly and movement were generally respected,” the chairman of the Commonwealth Observer Group, former Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, told reporters in Abuja.
Both Buhari and Abubakar are northern Muslims in a country split roughly evenly between a Christian south and Islamic north.
Buhari ruled the country briefly as a dictator in the 1980s and morphed into a civilian politician who won on his fourth try for the presidency in 2015. Abubakar, who was vice president between 1999 and 2007, has business interests ranging from oil and gas services to food manufacturing and a private university.
Buhari and his APC have faced sharp criticism for their handling of the economy. The president imposed capital controls as the naira currency came under pressure amid plunging revenue from oil, the country’s main export, and foreign investors fled. After a contraction in 2016, the economy expanded 1.9 percent last year, the fastest since Buhari’s election.
Yet Nigeria now has more extremely poor people, 87 million, than any other nation, according to the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank. The United Nations expects its population to double to 410 million by 2050, overtaking everywhere bar India and China.
Buhari’s supporters paint him as an honest politician who provides a sharp counterpart to the PDP that governed Nigeria for 16 years from the end of military rule in 1999.
Buhari’s suspension of Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen, accused of falsely declaring his assets, just weeks before the presidential election, was criticized by the legal community, the U.S. and the European Union, because the vote results may be contested in the Supreme Court.
Abubakar portrays himself as someone who knows how to get things done and his pro-market policies have won some favor among investors. While he’s faced allegations of corruption, he denies any wrongdoing and has never been indicted at home or abroad.
By Solape Renner, Anthony Osae-Brown, and Paul Wallace
Bloomberg
After results from 11 of Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Buhari led his main challenger, Atiku Abubakar, by a 51 percent to 46 percent margin, according to data announced on Monday by the Independent National Electoral Commission in the capital, Abuja. The final vote tally is expected Tuesday or Wednesday.
With his strong support in the northwest, the region with the greatest number of registered voters, Buhari’s prospects of winning re-election are bright, said Max Siollun, a Nigerian historian based in New York.
“The results so far will give Buhari and his supporters great confidence -- it will take a tectonic shift in result patterns for Atiku to win,” he said in an emailed response to questions. “If the north-western results as expected show heavy voting there for Buhari, then a Buhari victory will be a near certainty.”
The presidential and parliamentary election in Africa’s top oil producer was the continent’s biggest-ever democratic exercise. Almost 73 million people were eligible to vote Saturday in what analysts thought would be a tight race mainly between Buhari, an ex-general who campaigned on an anti-graft platform, and Abubakar, a 72-year-old businessman and former vice president.
The chairman of Abubakar’s People’s Democratic Party, Uche Secondus, accused the government of using “inducements, manipulation and incarcerations” and enlisting the police and national army “to silence the voices of our long suffering people.” In a statement, he threatened to challenge some results.
Buhari’s All Progressives Congress rejected the claims in a statement, accusing the PDP of trying to “discredit and destabilize” the electoral process.
The election pitted two men of contrasting economic views, with Buhari, who favors a strong government role, against Abubakar, a pro-market multimillionaire who has said he would float the national currency and sell stakes in the state oil company.
Wall Street banks such as Citigroup Inc. had said Nigerian equities and bonds will probably rally if Abubakar wins. The stock market closed up 0.6 percent in Lagos on Monday to extend its gains this year to 4 percent.
Election Day Fatalities
At least 39 people were killed in election-related violence, Clement Nwankwo, the chairman of Situation Room, a monitoring group, told reporters Monday in Abuja. The inspector general of police, who didn’t give a death toll, said 128 people were arrested for offenses such as homicide and snatching of ballot boxes. INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu said an election worker was killed by a stray bullet in Rivers state.
“Serious operational shortcomings placed undue burden on voters,” the European Union observer mission said, while the African Union called the vote “largely peaceful and orderly.”
To win, a candidate must get the majority of votes and at least 25 percent in two-thirds of Nigeria’s 36 states and Federal Capital Territory. Otherwise, there’ll be a second round.
While Buhari was likely to win in the north, Abubakar was expected to dominate in the south-east and south-south, two of Nigeria’s six so-called geopolitical zones, where Buhari has long been unpopular. The south-west, which includes the commercial capital of Lagos, and the north-central zones were potential swing areas.
Abubakar’s PDP suffered an early blow when one of its highest-profile politicians, Senate President Bukola Saraki, lost his seat in the southwestern state of Kwara to the candidate from Buhari’s APC, according to INEC results.
“Whilst the environment was tense and divisive, overall, fundamental freedoms of association, expression, assembly and movement were generally respected,” the chairman of the Commonwealth Observer Group, former Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, told reporters in Abuja.
Both Buhari and Abubakar are northern Muslims in a country split roughly evenly between a Christian south and Islamic north.
Buhari ruled the country briefly as a dictator in the 1980s and morphed into a civilian politician who won on his fourth try for the presidency in 2015. Abubakar, who was vice president between 1999 and 2007, has business interests ranging from oil and gas services to food manufacturing and a private university.
Buhari and his APC have faced sharp criticism for their handling of the economy. The president imposed capital controls as the naira currency came under pressure amid plunging revenue from oil, the country’s main export, and foreign investors fled. After a contraction in 2016, the economy expanded 1.9 percent last year, the fastest since Buhari’s election.
Yet Nigeria now has more extremely poor people, 87 million, than any other nation, according to the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank. The United Nations expects its population to double to 410 million by 2050, overtaking everywhere bar India and China.
Buhari’s supporters paint him as an honest politician who provides a sharp counterpart to the PDP that governed Nigeria for 16 years from the end of military rule in 1999.
Buhari’s suspension of Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen, accused of falsely declaring his assets, just weeks before the presidential election, was criticized by the legal community, the U.S. and the European Union, because the vote results may be contested in the Supreme Court.
Abubakar portrays himself as someone who knows how to get things done and his pro-market policies have won some favor among investors. While he’s faced allegations of corruption, he denies any wrongdoing and has never been indicted at home or abroad.
By Solape Renner, Anthony Osae-Brown, and Paul Wallace
Bloomberg
Monday, February 25, 2019
Video - Votes being counted in Nigeria's delayed vote
Vote-counting is under way in Nigeria after Saturday's presidential election. Incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari is seeking a second term, in what's thought to be a tight race with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. The electoral commission extended voting hours in some places where polling stations opened late and ballot machines malfunctioned. Now, many Nigerians are watching election officials closely to make sure there is no vote-rigging. Emotions remain high and there are fears that a disputed result could lead to violence.
Dozens killed in election violence in Nigeria
As many as 39 people have died in election-related violence in Nigeria, as the country awaits the results of this weekend's voting in what is forecast to be its tightest poll since the end of military rule in 1999.
Current President Muhummadu Buhari, 76, a former military ruler is seeking a second term on an anti-corruption platform.
He faces off against businessman Atiku Abubakar, 72, a former vice president who has promised to expand the role of the private sector.
The election was held on Saturday, but violence and problems with electronic voting machines meant voting continued in a small number of places before polls closed on Sunday.
The ballot was initially due to take place last week, but was postponed just hours before it was due to begin, with the authorities citing logistics.
Nigeria's 73 million eligible voters chose from a pool of more than 70 presidential candidates, although only those from the two main parties — Mr Buhari and Mr Abubakar — are seen as having a chance.
The President last year publicly denied social media claims he died and was replaced by a Sudanese clone, and also courted international controversy in the past by suggesting his wife "belongs in the kitchen".
The Situation Room — which represents more than 70 civil society groups — gave Sunday's figure of 39 deaths, citing data from Lagos-based consultancy SBM Intelligence.
In one incident, seven people were killed in a shootout between Nigerian army troops and a gang.
Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), said an electoral official had been shot dead by unknown people.
The president's office declined to comment, while the opposition candidate Mr Abubakar condemned the violence in a statement.
The number of deaths reported by Sunday was below the final death tolls in previous elections in Africa's most populous country, but in the past most unrest has taken place after results were announced.
What's at stake?
A credible and relatively calm poll would open a new chapter in the chequered political history of Nigeria, where nearly six decades of independence have been tarnished by military coups, endemic corruption and secessionist movements.
"From Tuesday onwards we should have a substantial number of results," said Festus Okoye, an election commission official.
The contest between Mr Buhari and Mr Abubakar, commonly called "Atiku", hinges on revamping an economy struggling to recover from its first recession in 25 years, which it slipped into in 2016 and emerged from in 2017.
Nearly a quarter of the workforce is unemployed, while the cost of living has also risen rapidly.
Mr Buhari has focused his campaign on rooting out corruption, but critics say there have not been any significant convictions in his first term.
Mr Abubakar has said he would aim to double the size of the economy to $900 billion by 2025.
Reuters
Current President Muhummadu Buhari, 76, a former military ruler is seeking a second term on an anti-corruption platform.
He faces off against businessman Atiku Abubakar, 72, a former vice president who has promised to expand the role of the private sector.
The election was held on Saturday, but violence and problems with electronic voting machines meant voting continued in a small number of places before polls closed on Sunday.
The ballot was initially due to take place last week, but was postponed just hours before it was due to begin, with the authorities citing logistics.
Nigeria's 73 million eligible voters chose from a pool of more than 70 presidential candidates, although only those from the two main parties — Mr Buhari and Mr Abubakar — are seen as having a chance.
The President last year publicly denied social media claims he died and was replaced by a Sudanese clone, and also courted international controversy in the past by suggesting his wife "belongs in the kitchen".
The Situation Room — which represents more than 70 civil society groups — gave Sunday's figure of 39 deaths, citing data from Lagos-based consultancy SBM Intelligence.
In one incident, seven people were killed in a shootout between Nigerian army troops and a gang.
Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), said an electoral official had been shot dead by unknown people.
The president's office declined to comment, while the opposition candidate Mr Abubakar condemned the violence in a statement.
The number of deaths reported by Sunday was below the final death tolls in previous elections in Africa's most populous country, but in the past most unrest has taken place after results were announced.
What's at stake?
A credible and relatively calm poll would open a new chapter in the chequered political history of Nigeria, where nearly six decades of independence have been tarnished by military coups, endemic corruption and secessionist movements.
"From Tuesday onwards we should have a substantial number of results," said Festus Okoye, an election commission official.
The contest between Mr Buhari and Mr Abubakar, commonly called "Atiku", hinges on revamping an economy struggling to recover from its first recession in 25 years, which it slipped into in 2016 and emerged from in 2017.
Nearly a quarter of the workforce is unemployed, while the cost of living has also risen rapidly.
Mr Buhari has focused his campaign on rooting out corruption, but critics say there have not been any significant convictions in his first term.
Mr Abubakar has said he would aim to double the size of the economy to $900 billion by 2025.
Reuters
Friday, February 22, 2019
Video - Curbing fake news during elections in Nigeria
In the run up to the Nigerian elections, the country has witnessed instances of fake news aimed at tarnishing the names of candidates, parties or even INEC. Negative use of social media has largely propagated the spread of fake news in Nigeria. But how can Nigerians tackle this?
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