President Buhari Mohammed and his opponent Atiku Abubakar have called upon Nigerians to avail themselves and vote on 21st February, 2019. The two fear that the voters were discouraged due to the fact that, the polls were supposed to take place on 16th February 2019, but they were postponed at the last minute when voters had already lined up at polling stations.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced the delay in the early hours of last Saturday citing logistical reasons, just as some of Nigeria’s 84 million registered voters were preparing to head to the polls.
The stakes are high as Buhari, who took office in 2015 and is seeking a second term, is locked in a tight race against businessman and former vice president Atiku Abubakar to lead a country that is Africa’s top oil producer. These two are the Big Two in the presidential race.
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari and his closest rival Atiku Abubakar made their final appeal for votes on the last day of campaigning on Thursday ahead of a tight contest in a presidential election on Saturday that was delayed by a week.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced the delay in the early hours of last Saturday citing logistical reasons, just as some of Nigeria’s 84 million registered voters were preparing to head to the polls.
The stakes are high as Buhari, who took office in 2015 and is seeking a second term, is locked in a race against businessman and former vice president Atiku Abubakar to lead a country that is Africa’s top oil producer.
The election has largely been fought on how to jump-start growth in the country with Africa’s largest economy which has seen low growth since emerging in 2017 from its first recession in 25 years. Security, amid an increase in Islamist attacks in the northeast, and corruption have also been campaign issues.
So far, there are no further public rallies planned by either man, with the unexpected extra week of campaigning stretching resources and stamina. They made their pitches for votes in a statement and via social media.
Buhari, who is campaigning on an anti-corruption platform, touted his economic record in a statement issued by his spokesman Femi Adesina.
Gross domestic product grew by 1.93 percent last year, up from 0.82 percent in 201
“Those who do not see any good in something not initiated by them toil endlessly to hoodwink Nigerians into believing that nothing good is happening on the economic front,” the statement said.
Buhari’s economic reforms are focused on infrastructure development and extending a social welfare programme to create jobs and lift the poorest Nigerians out of poverty.