“Re-elect Buhari we collapse the Ecomony” The Dilemma Nigerians Face on the Saturday Poll

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On Saturday February 16, Nigerians will go to the polls for a presidential election with stakes high in the ahead of Saturday’s vote.

The top two presidential candidates, incumbent Muhammadu Buhari and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar , have wrapped up their campaigns with big rallies in front of enthusiastic crowds, making their final pitches to voters and reiterating their commitment to holding peaceful elections.

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The election on Saturday is seen as one of the closest in Africa’s largest democracy, with Buhari facing a strong challenge from Atiku, a former vice president.

The two main candidates have vowed to fix the economy, bring security and create more jobs in Africa’s most populous country but Nigerians face a dilemma after a militant group in Nigeria’s oil-rich southern Niger Delta threatened on Thursday to cripple Africa’s top oil producer and biggest economy if Buhari is re-elected in the Saturday vote.

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The Niger Delta Avengers – who have been demanding a greater share of the oil revenue produced in the impoverished southern region – said in a statement they hoped to end Buhari’s rule through elections and that opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar was their preferred choice for president.

They were behind a 2016 wave of violence that helped push Nigeria into recession. However, no substantial attacks have been carried out by any groups in the Delta region since January 2017.

The elections campaigns have been marked by widespread discontent over unemployment, poverty and insecurity in some parts of the Africa’s most populous nation.

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An absence of reliable opinion polls makes it difficult to tell, and analysts have mixed views.

New York-based risk adviser Teneo projects that Abubakar would win 57 percent of the vote to Buhari’s 42 percent in a free and fair election.

On the other hand, Eurasia Group, which included Nigeria on its list of the top 10 global risks for 2019, sees Buhari beating Abubakar by a 55 percent to 45 percent margin. If no candidate wins outright in the first round, a run-off will be held.

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