Nigeria Decides: All the news, updates and incoming results (Live Blog)

Expect results of presidential election within 48 hours – Jega

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it will announce the result of the elections within 48 hours after voting.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega who revealed this Friday, during a joint press briefing with the Director General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brig. Gen. Johnson Olawumi said
the electoral body has put everything in place to ensure a hitch free exercise.

He said that the use of the card reader and the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) will make it easier for the commission to conduct an election that will be free, fair and credible in line with international best practices.
Jega also dismissed an allegation that he was planning to assist the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), insisting that the card reader has no master key but a security chip which can only be breached when the card is cut.

COMMISSIONER OF POLICE, FCT, MR WILSON INALEGWU (L), BRIEFING A JOIN SECURITY PERSONNEL DEPLOYED ON ELECTION DUTY IN ABUJA ON FRIDAY (27/3/15). WITH HIM ARE COMPTROLLER OF CUSTOMS, FCT COMMAND, MR ABUBAKAR BASHIR (M) AND CONTROLER OF PRISONS, FCT COMMAND, MR SURAJ OLARINDE.lui






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 OPC blasts Lai Mohammed for   members of wearing fake Army, Police uniforms


Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) has lambasted the national publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) over what it termed his “ceaseless propaganda” against the group.

A statement Friday evening signed by Hakeem Ologunro, OPC National Publicity Secretary, said it was unfortunate that the opposition’s spokesman had made “lie-telling his stock in trade.”

Titled “When will Lai Mohammed stop disgracing himself?”, the statement reads: “We just got informed of another phase of lies from the chief propagandist of APC against OPC and we wonder when will Lai Muhammed stop disgracing himself?.

“His latest lie is the press release issued today that OPC members and other militants were seen today wearing fake police and army uniforms so they can unleash mayhem on the opposition and disrupt voting, especially in the South-west, without hindrance.




Nigeria goes to the polls in the shadow of insecurity

Kano, Nigeria – Nigerians will vote in what is expected to be one of the country's tightest presidential races ever on Saturday, with a festering insurgency and rampant corruption high on the agenda.
The election, delayed for six weeks while security forces attempted to subdue the armed group Boko Haram in the country's northeast, will be the fifth since Nigeria returned to civilian rule in 1999.
With dusk approaching on Friday in Kano, the biggest city in the country's north, which has been hit by Boko Haram attacks, people waited patiently at ATMs as they prepared for a lockdown during voting.

Explainer: Nigeria elections in one minute
Analysts are calling the poll a pivotal event for the young democracy. President Goodluck Jonathan’s People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has ruled virtually unopposed for 16 years.
On Saturday, he could lose to former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, who has contested three previous elections but never come close to winning.
Buhari’s opposition coalition, the All Progressives Congress (APC), has gained popularity by presenting itself as the face of change for voters who have grown frustrated by the government’s weak record on corruption and security.
Most Nigerians expect a tight race. Insiders on both sides say that they are confident of victory, and a February poll by Afrobarometer put the parties neck and neck with 42 percent of the vote each.
"The opposition has perhaps slightly less momentum than it did six weeks ago, but the outcome is too close to call," said Thomas Hansen, West Africa analyst with the Control Risks group.
Observers on alert
A democratic transition of power would be the first in half a century of post-colonial independence. Heavy manipulation or a contested result would undermine Africa’s biggest democracy, and could lead to post-election violence.
Observers are watching for signs of foul play and, for the first time, permanent voter cards are being used with biometric readers, which should make vote rigging harder.
There are so many loopholes that politicians use, but we have put in place measures to check most.
Nick Dazang, Independent National Electoral Commission,
"There are so many loopholes that politicians use, but we have put in place measures to check most," Nick Dazang, a spokesperson for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), told Al Jazeera.
But there will likely be technological glitches, one Western diplomat argued, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
Both sides have been accused of buying up voter cards to suppress turnout in opponent strongholds. Fear of intimidation prompted a court to rule this week against military presence at polling stations.
At least 58 people have died in political violence in the run-up to the poll, according to the National Human Rights Commission.
Human Rights Watch said over 800 people were killed in riots after the last election in 2011, which was seen as Nigeria’s most credible since independence. The majority of the killings took place in the mostly Muslim north, where Buhari - who hails from the region - has strong support.
If his party loses, analyst expect violence to erupt again in that region.
"It will be all the same patterns as 2011, but this time the stakes are higher," Malte Liewerscheidt, senior Africa analyst with the UK-based analysis firm Verisk Maplecroft, said.
If Buhari wins, former rebels in the Niger Delta - Jonathan’s home region - have threatened to again take up arms.
Posters and radio adverts across the country are calling for peace. “Your blood is worth more than the ambition of any politician,” went a message broadcast on one radio station on the eve of the vote.