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 postponing of elections came early at 2 am to the shock of many including Kenya’s Charity Ngilu who went as an African observer.
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 grow economically s 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 candidate, with the unexpected extra week of campaigning stretching resources and stamina. They made their pitches for votes in a statement and via social media.