The court held that issues the APM raised in its petition contained pre-election matters that could only be determined by the Federal High Court.

Chairman of the panel, Justice Haruna Tsammani, who read the ruling, upheld preliminary objections that all the Respondents raised to challenge the competence of the petition.

Justice Haruna noted that since the petition centred on the qualification or otherwise of President Tinubu to contest the presidential election that was held on February 25, the APM, ought to have gone to court within 14 days after Tinubu was nominated by the All Progressives Congress, APC.

He held that since the cause of action bordered on a pre-election matter, the APM, lacked the locus standi to challenge Tinubu’s nomination.

More so, Justice Tsammani held that the Supreme Court had earlier decided that a political party does not have the right to challenge a nomination that was made by another political party.

He held that sections 131 and 237 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, made provisions for the qualification or disqualification of candidates in an election.

The court noted that the main grouse of the APM was on the alleged invalid nomination of Tinubu’s running mate, Kashim Shettima.

“It is clear that the claim of qualification is non-qualification of the 3rd Respondent (Tinubu) centred on the alleged invalid nomination of the 4th Respondent (Shettima).

“It is a pre-election matter,” Justice Tsammani held.

He was spotted in a viral video thanking and rejoicing with his supporters as they celebrate his win.

Captured in a jubilant mood, Desmond ‘high-fived’ some of his supporters and chided his detractors who wished him doom in the keenly contested race.

His position was threatened when actor, Olumide Oworu, declared his intention to represent the constituency on the ticket of the Labour Party.

Desmond Elliot, who belongs to the incumbent APC, has over the years been in the bad books of citizens, particularly, his colleagues, due to some utterances he had made in parliament.

Prior to the governorship elections, netizens including some of his colleagues vowed to vote him out of power.

Watch the video below:

Up Desmond?? now go and continue representing us. pic.twitter.com/6RrgByNXso

— Dami Marshal (@DamiMarshal) March 18, 2023

According to the victim, they had an argument when she found out that he voted APC instead of the party of her choice.

Victor said: “This happened in Abuja. I believe everyone is entitled to support any candidate of their choice. My babe poured hot oil on my hand because I voted for the ruling party.”

He added that his hand began melting and he pleaded with her to rush him to the hospital, but she threatened to do worse.

According to the victim, he is forced to believe the suspect was bribed in voting for the ruling party.

He shared photos of his bruised hands while he was in a hospital ward to add veracity to his claims.

Mr Okojie won the primary held in Ubiaja, Esan South East LGA., Edo State on Saturday.

The 48-year-old politician picked the declaration form expression of Interest and Nomination Form to run for the office of Federal House of Representatives, Esan North East/Esan South East Federal Constituency, in April 2022.

In December 2017, Mr Okojie and several PDP supporters defected to APC from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

The hotelier turned politician is a descendant of the Okojie royal family in Uromi Esan, North-East native authority.

He is from the lineage of Ogbidi Okojie, Onojie (king) of Uromi, who was a ruler of the Esan people and is renowned for his opposition to British rule.

Appreciation

Mr Okojie appreciated God for the win and his wife’s love and support in an Instagram post on Saturday.

He also shared his manifesto on his official Instagram account.

He wrote, “Incoming days, my team and I shall be embarking vigorously on more tours throughout all the wards of our constituency, meeting with stakeholders (both leaders and constituents) to foster and deepen the already harmonious relationship that will bring about the very best ways of meeting the dire needs of the good people of Esan North East and South East constituency.”

His wife also celebrated her husband’s victory.

“Congratulations to @princeodiokojie on this win. You are a good man and a man of the people,” she wrote.

Expectations are high that the election shall be like none before except for the fact that the three major tribes: Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa/Fulani have presidential candidates.

Three-Horse Race

Mr Peter Obi, an Igbo and former Governor of Anambra State, is the flag bearer of the resurgent Labour Party, LP. One of the main contenders is Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, a Yoruba, who had served for two terms as the Governor of Lagos State. Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, another political force in the election is a Fulani like the outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari. He is flying the flag of the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

This is reminiscent of the geo-political parallel in the country’s presidential election when Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe (Igbo) of the Nigerian People’s Party, NPP, squared up against Chief Obafemi Awolowo (Yoruba) of the Unity Party of Nigeria, UPN, and Alhaji Shehu Shagari, Hausa/Fulani of the National Party of Nigeria, NPN; and for the keenly contested 1979 polls which Shagari eventually won.

However, political analysts have talked of a three-horse presidential race with no certainty on who will likely be the country’s next president after the incumbent. But it will be wrong to ignore Senator Rabiu Musa Kwakwanso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, who is a force and arguably makes it a four-horse race.

Too close to call

While many said the presidential election is too close to call and that the race may go into the second round for the first time, others are excited over the emergence of LP as a ‘Third Force’ alternative to the major political parties, the ruling APC and the PDP.

BVAS magic

Novel also, is the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC’s move to step up the application of technology in the electoral process of the 2023 elections to general acclaim.

However, reactionary forces have mounted both open and surreptitious campaigns to discredit the efficacy of INEC’s technology-driven electoral procedures.

Some political actors have been voicing criticisms and objections as others cast doubts on the relevance of INEC’s Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS and the Results Viewing Portal, otherwise known as electronic transmission of election results.

After taking delivery of the BVAS machines for the election, INEC tested them by conducting a mock accreditation of voters on February 4 to ensure their functionality.

Worrisome is the fact that the mock accreditation exercise recorded low turnout of registered voters due to issues of scarcity of Naira notes and inadequate awareness, raising fears of apathy in today’s election.

Casting doubts on the reliability of the BVAS machines for voter and result management, the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal led by Justice Terste Kume, nullified the election of Governor Ademola Adeleke after some weeks at the helm of affairs in the state.

The panel held that the governorship election was not held in substantial compliance with the Electoral Act 2022 as it was characterised by over-voting despite the use of BVAS machines for voter identification.

But sources in INEC said the BVAS machines did not allow over-voting during the last governorship election in the state.

An insider, who spoke to Saturday Vanguard under condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said some politicians in connivance with some staff members may have deliberately bypassed BVAS or fed the wrong results on the result sheet, contrasting what was in the BVAS and the server.

“The BVAS is designed to actually expose those who plan to carry out over-voting on Election Day. So, it could not have created the problem. “If there are any gaps such that there is over-voting with BVAS, then politicians, voters and some presiding officers may have connived to bypass or subvert the voter accreditation process,” the source said.

Money politics

In the same breath, despite the Federal Government’s efforts to clean up the country’s highly monetised politics and elections through the introduction of the new Naira redesign policy, which among others, seeks to flush out the billions of currencies allegedly hoarded for buying of votes on Election Day, some influential but unscrupulous politicians are having their way.

They had infiltrated the banks and mopped up the redesigned Naira.

Amid a tight deadline just before the elections, the Federal Government may have failed to maroon the billions of naira known to have been stockpiled by politicians, including governors and other state actors, to influence the elections.

This situation has also raised concerns that money may still determine the outcome of today’s presidential election.

Unpredictable outcome

Nevertheless, today’s election is still not predictable, contrary to political permutations. For starters, regardless of what the pundits say, this remains one election that can go any way. Partisans are upbeat about their chances, but the facts show no one can be sure of victory in this election.

There were keen contests in the six previous elections since 1999, the power of incumbency or realignment of forces where the factors that foretold how the pendulum would swing. Somehow, things are a little different this year.

Although supporters of the APC and PDP underplay the chances of Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party, yet his raging popularity presents a challenge for both parties.

While Tinubu of the APC and Atiku of the PDP have nursed the ambition to rule Nigeria for a long time, can boast of huge resources, and built alliances around the country that many see as huge advantages the unprecedented entry of a seemingly formidable third force poses a dent, if not a threat, to the two of them. This is what makes the 2023 election different from the recent past elections.

Race between a candidate and his ex-running mate

John Alechenu previews the chances of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Presidential Candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and his former running mate now Presidential hopeful on the ticket of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, in today’s election.

Atiku ABUBAKAR

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, 76, is making his sixth and probably last attempt at becoming Nigeria’s President.

The PDP presidential candidate is a retired Customs officer, businessman turned politician. He is a multimillionaire, with business interests in oil servicing, shipping and education among others.

Atiku, a northern Muslim from the Fulani ethnic group is seeking to take over from a fellow northerner, Muhammadu Buhari whose tenure ends on May 29, 2023.

Opponents argue that his desire to take over from a fellow northern Fulani Muslim runs against the convention of power rotation between the North and South. Supporters counter that the last PDP President was a Southerner hence the argument doesn’t hold water.

Strengths

He counts on his experience as two-term vice president between 1999 and 2007, when he chaired the economic team that implemented far reaching reforms in the telecommunications, pensions and banking sectors.

His supporters credit him with championing policies which led to job creation and economic growth during this time under review.

His foray into business allowed him handsome experience on what the private sector requires to drive the economy.

Atiku enjoys a large network of friends and business associates at home and abroad. He is also liberal in his approach to governance. His versatility could be a major asset.

Draw backs

The age factor could be a challenge. Nigeria currently has a large youth population, a substantial number of them see this election as the greatest opportunity to make a clean break from the past. He will struggle to capture this demographic.

The crisis within his party-The PDP and his face off with the Governor Nyesom Wike-led G5 governors could eat into his votes in the party’s traditional stronghold states in the South-East and the South-South.

Although he has not been indicted for any crime, his supporters have a challenge assisting him shake off the perception among many that he is corrupt.

He is expected to put up a strong showing in his native Adamawa State, Bauchi, Gombe, Niger, Sokoto, Kano, Kebbi, Rivers, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Oyo, Osun, Taraba, Cross River, Kogi and Ondo.

Atiku may struggle for votes with supporters of the Labour Party Candidate, Peter Obi, in Abia, Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi, Imo, Edo, Benue, Plateau, parts of Kaduna, Nasarawa, Benue, Lagos, Ogun, and the FCT, Abuja.

Peter OBi

The LP Presidential Candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, a Christian and an Igbo man; who prefers to call himself a trader, was a two term governor of Anambra State.

He is well educated and served as chairman of the boards of several banks including Fidelity Bank before his foray into politics. At 61 years old, he is the youngest of the four major contenders for the plum job. He also flaunts a clean public service record with no summon or indictment from any of Nigeria’s anti-graft agencies before, during and after leaving public office.

Strengths

He has largely succeeded in establishing himself as the anti-establishment candidate, with a strong desire to tap into the votes of angry and frustrated Nigerian voters who are tired of the politics of older generations which they see as corrupt and full of empty and unfulfilled promises.

His message of moving Nigeria from consumption to production and a break from the past resonates with his supporters especially an army of tech survey up and mobile Nigerian youths who cherish the appellation “Obidients”.

Experience garnered as Atiku’s running mate during the 2019 Presidential elections as well as his clean public service record could serve him in good stead.

He has, perhaps more than most of his opponents, enjoyed open endorsements by elder statesmen, groups and associations as well as sitting governors across party lines.

Drawbacks

His opponents have capitalized on the agitation and activities of separatist groups such as the Indigenous People of Biafra and MOSSOP to engage in scaremongering.

They accuse him of doing little to dissociate himself from the activities of these groups and that his presidency will encourage the agitators to succeed.

His famed prudence with funds which many mistake for stinginess could be a minus among voters currently at the receiving end of economic hardship. Even members of his party have complained that the largesse others have in their parties are lacking in LP, a development that has seen some quit the party. However, this is seen as credible by those who argue that it’s time Nigeria did away with money in politics.

Recent opinion polls project him to win. However, experience over the years shows that the outcomes of these polls are more often than not a far cry from the reality on ground.

His performance will largely depend on the number of his supporters who turn up to vote on Election Day. Nigeria is notorious for having the worst voter turnout during elections.

Records made public by the INEC show that only 35 per cent of registered voters went to the ballot boxes to cast their ballots in 2019.

Obi is expected to make an impressive showing in his home state of Anambra, as well as the South-eastern States of Enugu, Imo, Abia and Ebonyi.

He is also expected to pull some weight in states such in Benue, Plateau, Edo, Rivers, FCT, Abuja, parts of Kaduna, Nasarawa, Niger and Taraba.

Tinubu:

Omeiza Ajayi, Abuja

“It’s a lifelong ambition.” That was the response of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu on January 10, 2022, after he visited President Muhammadu Buhari to notify the head of state of his ambition to vie for the presidency.

For the past 14 months, Tinubu had reached out to a cross-section of the civil populace, the political class and other stakeholders.

On June 8, 2022, Tinubu became the presidential candidate of his party after a landslide victory at a Special Convention for that purpose.

The intense battle for the choice of a running mate began thereafter. Although he later settled for the former Governor of Borno State, Senator Kashim Shettima, that singular decision almost put a nail in the coffin of his ambition as a result of his being of the same faith as Shettima.

Although he has campaigned around the country, and he has not been on the ballot since he left the Alausa Government House in 2007, there are several hurdles against him.

Apart from the issue of same-faith ticket, there is the ethnic spin, with a section of Nigerians advocating that power should shift to the South-East mainly dominated by Igbo.

Then, his opponents have consistently attacked his health status, saying he does not have the presence of mind to assume the responsibilities of the exalted office.

What would have perhaps counted more against him is the Naira Redesign Policy of the Federal Government as well as the lingering fuel scarcity across the country. Interestingly, these seem to have worked in his favour, as many Nigerians have come to sympathize with him, believing that the obstacles were deliberately placed in his way.

Also, his opponents have accused him of going against the Naira Redesign Policy because he has a stockpile of the old notes. This is something he has vehemently denied.

Kaduna state Governor, Nasir El-Rufai alleged of the existence of a cabal in the presidential villa, who are opposed to Tinubu’s ambition.

But there’s no evidence of any deliberate plan to stop the Asiwaju of Yorubaland in spite of the alleged seeming lukewarm attitude of President Buhari who has countered that by joining Tinubu in some of his campaigns.

Again, nobody has indicated how the said cabal will stop people from voting for Tinubu today.

Tinubu’s antecedents speak volumes. To an appreciable extent, his records as governor of Lagos have added tremendous weight to his Nation Builder toga.

Again, unlike his closest rivals, Tinubu is not an election merchant. This is the first time he would be gunning for the presidency. He had not shown long years of desperation to become Nigeria’s president even as he said it was his lifetime ambition.

His party’s governors, 21 of them, seem to also be on the same page with him unlike Atiku Abubakar’s Peoples Democratic Party, PDP which had since “lost” five of its governors.

In the North, which has a higher voting population than the South, many still see Tinubu as the main human factor that God used to enthrone President Buhari after a series of defeats. Indeed, for them, it is payback time. Tinubu himself has said it is his turn, using the Yoruba expression “Emilokan”. He could well be Nigeria’s next president.

The wads of US dollars were found by police inside Chinyere Igwe’s car.

Mr Igwe, an opposition PDP member of the House of Representatives, was also caught with a list of people to give the money to, police say.

In previous elections, politicians have been accused of rigging polls through vote buying.

Nigeria has recently issued new banknotes, partly in order to make it harder for politicians to amass large sums of money in order to bribe voters.

However, not enough of the new notes are in circulation, leading to widespread anger and frustration. People have been queuing for hours outside banks in order to get cash, often without success, while some have attacked banks.

Some 40% of Nigerians do not have bank accounts and so rely on cash to buy food, and for other everyday uses.

In a Twitter thread, police in Rivers State, where Mr Igwe was arrested, urged “all contestants and political parties to comply strictly with provisions of the Electoral Act and other relevant laws”.

Mr Igwe, who represents part of the southern city of Port Harcout, has not yet commented on the matter.

The elections are predicted to be the most competitive since the end of military rule in 1999, with three candidates – Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Bola Tinubu of the governing APC – all seen as potential winners.

MORE:

• Christian Atsu’s wife breaks silence

• How Christian Atsu’s friend ‘dragged’ him into stardom

• Christian Atsu paid my fees till I graduated — Nigerian comedian

Spurred on by the 2020 EndSars anti-police brutality protests that morphed into calls for good governance, millions of young people have registered as first-time voters.

“If Nigeria continues on this downhill, it will be disastrous, so yes, it’s a defining moment,” said Rinu Oduala, a 24-year-old woman who was among the protesters who camped outside the governor’s office in Lagos for weeks, two years ago.

Though the protests were brutally halted by the army, the disbandment of the Sars police unit notorious for profiling young people was considered a success.

That seems to have galvanized frustrated young Nigerians and now they are targeting the highest office in the land.

The man many are backing, Peter Obi of the Labour Party, is not that young at 61. Nor is he really a new broom in Nigerian politics as he has previously been the vice-presidential candidate for the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

But he is considered an outlier because of his accessibility, simplicity and his record of prudence with public funds when he was Anambra state governor.

“I should be in the peak of my life right now, balling financially and physically, but there is no money and there are kidnappers everywhere,” said Ovie Esan, a 25-year-old man in Lagos.

Many accuse President Muhammadu Buhari, who is stepping down after two terms, of mismanaging the economy and overseeing the most insecure period in the country since the 1967-1970 civil war.

Under his watch, young middle-class Nigerians have seen their finances battered by record levels of inflation.

One in three of them cannot find a job, students have experienced incessant strikes by lecturers and many of Nigeria’s finest are desperate to leave the country.

On top of this, widespread insecurity has seen armed groups kill more than 10,000 people and abduct more than 5,000 last year alone, according to the International Crisis Group.

Offering hope of a new era, Mr Obi is going up against the twin behemoths of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the PDP who have alternated in power since the end of military rule in 1999. Their candidates are both in their 70s in a country where a third of Nigeria’s 210 million people are aged below 35.

Ethnic and religious factors also influence the choice of many voters.

Mr Obi has been openly supported by Nigeria’s huge evangelical Christian movement in the south, and can also rely on the votes of Christians who feel persecuted in the mainly Muslim north.

Mr Obi is an Igbo from the east, the only major ethnic group yet to supply a Nigerian president. While some back the idea it is their turn to be in power, the APC and PDP candidates will enjoy the backing of many in their home areas – the south-west and north respectively.

Victory for Mr Obi is far from guaranteed.

The APC and PDP have the advantage of countrywide name recognition, which the Labour Party seems to struggle with, especially in vote-rich rural areas in the north.

Both parties can also call on tested political machines to bring out the support on election day in villages where voters are influenced by local leaders.

Despite having vast oil and gas riches, Nigeria has been held back by widespread corruption since independence in 1960.

The ruling class, whether military or civilian, has been unable to provide basics like stable electricity, pipe-borne water or jobs for the huge young population.

Now, many seem to have had enough in what the head of the electoral commission has described as the “election of young people”. A record 93 million people have registered to vote, 40% of whom are under 35.

If they turn out to vote in large numbers, it could prove to be a watershed in the country’s history – a time to reset and begin anew.

“We can only take so much more before the famed ‘Nigerian resilience’ crumbles. The importance of Nigeria’s stability in West Africa, Africa and the entire world cannot be over-emphasised,” said Ms Oduala.

In the past, young upwardly mobile Nigerians and millions in the middle class in the southhave largely been apathetic about elections due to fear of violence on voting day and an uninspiring list of contestants.

But interest in this election has been spurred by Mr Obi.

“He believes in human capacity and invested so much in education,” said Atogu Nneka, vice-principal of a state secondary school in Anambra’s capital, Awka, where the Labour Party candidate enjoys huge popularity.

Mr Obi has said that youths are running for office through him, and has surrounded himself with many of those involved in the EndSars protest.

They include Aisha Yesufu, whose fist-raising photograph on the day young protesters camped outside the police headquarters in Abuja in 2020 became something of a symbol for the young protesters.

“They dared us to go into politics and change the government and that is what everyone is doing,” she said in a rousing speech during Mr Obi’s last rally two weeks ago in Lagos.

But in an election where the frontrunners come from the three major regions in the country, a winner will need votes beyond his base to be guaranteed victory and this is more of a challenge for Mr Obi than the other two.

“We only just started hearing of him but nobody knows him in our village,” said one woman in Bakiyawwa, a rural community in the northern Katsina state.

Many consider the election to be a referendum on the ruling party, whose candidate Bola Tinubu is widely credited for reshaping the commercial hub Lagos as governor between 1999-2007.

Mr Tinubu, 70, was instrumental in the emergence of President Buhari in 2015 but has controversially said that he cannot be judged on the records of the present government.

For many though, it is hard to look beyond the hardships of the last eight years, exacerbated by the chaos the introduction of new banknotes has caused in recent weeks.

Many have slept outside cash machines and banks waiting to get the new naira notes which are in short supply in a country where many rely on cash.

The government said the redesign will help reduce inflation and has blamed the banks for hoarding the cash, but many think the exercise is targeted at politicians involved in vote-buying on election day and there is a mixed reaction to the policy.

It has led to widespread anger and riots in some states, and will be on the minds of many voters on Saturday.

“You would think that the APC is not trying to win this election,” said a taxi driver at a queue for a cash machine in Victoria Island in Lagos.

Mr Tinubu is also having a hard time convincing young people outside his home area that he is the man for the job as many are concerned about his health. He has been seen at campaign grounds being supported when climbing stairs or standing upright and sometimes it is hard to understand what he is saying.

But he is loved in the south-west part of the country where many feel that his legacy in Lagos, where he quadrupled the state revenue and upgraded its infrastructure, is exactly what Nigeria needs.

“He has an eye for talent and will surround himself with people who can get things done,” said Rukayat Owolaranfe, a market leader in the Balogun area of Lagos Island where Mr Tinubu has a square named after him.

But he and the PDP candidate, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, 76, are seen by many as part of the old order responsible for Nigeria’s ills.

The PDP was in power for 16 years, most of which saw government revenues boosted by oil sales. But it was a time plagued by accusations of widespread corruption, some of it involving Mr Abubakar, which he has denied.

Mr Abubakar has changed parties several times – this is his sixth attempt at the presidency since 1993 – leading many young people to question the freshness of his ideas for the top job.

However, his supporters consider him the most experienced man on the ballot. As the only major candidate from the north, he will enjoy the backing of many in that region. He has promised critical reforms that will restructure the country.

“Nigerians are looking for a messiah but the problems are institutional and can only be solved by correcting fundamental issues,” said Francis Ugwu in Rivers state, who has always voted for the PDP.

But for 19-year-old first-time voter Blessing Ememumodak, Mr Obi represents the hope on which her future rests.

“Only those who don’t mean well for this country will let this opportunity of electing Peter Obi to pass us by. Eight years, or even four years with a bad president, is a long time,” she said.

The election feels like a showdown between an unstoppable force and an immovable object for Nigeria’s future. Whoever wins, it feels like the beginning of a new era – in which Nigeria’s massive young population will no longer take a backseat.

MORE:

• Managing Director of Cocoa Processing Company resigns

• Christian Atsu’s wife breaks silence

• Christian Atsu paid my fees till I graduated — Nigerian comedian

Once forced into exile by military ruler Sani Abacha, Mr Tinubu knows the value of freedom and wears it as an insignia on his signature hat – a broken shackle that looks like a horizontal figure of eight.

A trained accountant, it was the activities of the pro-democracy National Democratic Coalition (Nadeco) group, where he was a member, that brought him into Abacha’s crosshairs.

The opposition of groups like Nadeco, and Abacha’s death in 1998, ushered in Nigeria’s democracy in 1999 and in many ways, Mr Tinubu, a former Mobil oil executive, feels entitled to Nigeria’s presidency.

He will be banking on his experience in politics and huge influence across the country to win the election, where he will face stiff competition from former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, who is standing for the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and a burgeoning campaign by the Labour Party’s Peter Obi, who is hugely popular with urban voters.

If Mr Tinubu, known as “Jagaban” by supporters, gets the top job, he would be looking to unify a country divided across regional lines, tackle widespread insecurity, create jobs and bring down rising inflation.

But it is not a job that fazes him. He has pointed to his time as Lagos state governor between 1999 and 2007 to sell his candidacy to Nigerians.

Under his tenure, Lagos massively grew its income through huge foreign investment, while a public transport scheme that saw new lanes created for rapid buses eased the notorious traffic jams faced daily by commuters.

But the city of around 25 million people has not lived up to its reputation as a megacity despite his claims of turning it around.

Public infrastructure is largely in a state of disrepair – basic amenities such as water and public housing are decrepit, while a light rail project started during his reign has not been completed almost 20 years later despite the riches of the state.

He has also been accused of keeping a grip on state finances despite leaving office in 2007.

Every governor that has succeeded him has been a protégé following a “grand roadmap”, while one that dared to find his own path was quickly brought to heel, aided by powerful transport union members.

There are also allegations of corruption against Mr Tinubu, which he denies.

Two years ago, Dapo Apara, an accountant at Alpha-beta, a firm where Mr Tinubu purportedly holds stakes through a crony, accused him of using the firm for money laundering, fraud, tax evasion and other corrupt practices.

Mr Tinubu was sued despite him and Alpha-beta denying the allegations but all parties decided to settle out of court last June.

Such allegations, including twice facing Nigeria’s Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), on allegations of breaching the code of public officers – where he was cleared – make opponents say Mr Tinubu is not the right man for the job in a country where corruption is high.

In the last election, a brazen display of an armoured van used by banks to move money driving into his palatial compound in the Ikoyi area of Lagos fuelled suspicions that he was involved in vote-buying, which he made no great effort to deny.

“If I have money, if I like, I give it to the people free of charge, as long as [it’s] not to buy votes,” he said.

He is one of Nigeria’s richest politicians but there are questions about his wealth.

In December, he told the BBC that he inherited some real estate which he then invested, but in the past he also said he became an “instant millionaire” while working as an auditor at Deloitte and Touche.

He said he had saved $1.8m (£1.5m) from his wages and other allowances, nearly the same amount found in accounts linked to him in a 1993 dispute with the US authorities.

In documents that are publicly available, the US Department of Justice alleged that from early 1988, accounts opened in the name of Bola Tinubu held the proceeds of sales of white heroin.

Kevin Moss, the special agent that investigated the operation, alleged that Mr Tinubu worked for their prime suspect Adegoboyega Akande.

While the court confirmed it had cause to believe the money in the bank accounts were the proceeds of drug trafficking, Mr Tinubu and the others denied the allegations, and the court never made a final order about the money’s origins.

Instead, Mr Tinubu, who was not personally charged over the money, reached a compromise settlement with authorities and forfeited $460,000.

Mr Tinubu also faces questions about his health, once posting an eight-second video of him riding an exercise bike as proof-of-life.

Opponents say his age is catching up with him and point to videos of various gaffes at campaign rallies where it can be hard to understand what he’s saying.

Many Nigerians are wary of another president with health issues after President Umaru Yar’Adua died in office in 2010 and a current president who has spent considerable time getting medical treatment abroad.

But his supporters say he has the stamina for the job and is not competing for a spot at the Olympics.

There has also been some controversy about his choice of a running-mate.

Mr Tinubu, a southern Muslim, picked former Borno state governor Kashim Shettima, a northern Muslim, as his vice.

This move was seen as appeasing Nigeria’s Muslim-majority north which has the largest voting bloc in the country.

However, it drew the ire of many Christians who say it went against the tradition of mixed-faith tickets for the presidency.

He defended his choice, saying he went for competence over primordial interests.

He is seen as the political godfather of the south-west region and its most influential figure, who decides how power is distributed among his many acolytes.

In 2015 he described describes himself as a “talent hunter” that puts “talents into office”.

His immense political influence led to the merger of opposition parties in 2013 and eventually wrestled power from the then-ruling PDP in 2015 – a rarity in Nigeria where incumbents are not often defeated.

During his party primary, when it looked as though Mr Tinubu’s aspirations were flagging, he reminded Nigerians that he was largely responsible for installing President Muhammadu Buhari after the former military ruler had failed on several occasions to win the presidency.

Mr Buhari’s associates have since tried to downplay the former governor’s influence in the 2015 election, but it is unlikely that the current president would have emerged, twice, without the backing of Mr Tinubu.

That is why his supporters saw it as a betrayal when Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, who worked with Mr Tinubu as a commissioner in Lagos, ran against his former boss for the APC ticket.

If he wins February’s election, which is likely to be tightly contested, he will have to tackle many issues left behind by Mr Buhari – widespread insecurity, high unemployment, rising inflation and a country divided along ethnic lines.

It is not an impossible job, but the task ahead is daunting.

MORE:

• How Christian Atsu’s friend ‘dragged’ him into stardom

• Atsu’s family reveals current state of his widow [Audio]

• Managing Director of Cocoa Processing Company resigns

The 76-year-old has circled the summits of public life for most of his career as a top civil servant, a vice-president, and a prominent businessman, making his fortune in the oil sector.

But the highest office in the land has eluded him, and in February 2023 he goes again, offering his credentials as a seasoned political operator and serial entrepreneur as the remedy for Nigeria’s ills.

Africa’s most populous country is facing soaring unemployment, widespread insecurity, high inflation, and a sluggish economy heavily dependent on fluctuating oil revenues.

Mr Abubakar’s campaign is built on his success as vice-president between 1999 and 2007, where as head of the government’s economic team he oversaw successful reforms in the telecommunications, pensions and banking sectors that led to jobs and GDP growth.

However, his critics point to accusations of financial impropriety against him which they say make him unsuitable for the top office in a country where corruption is a huge challenge.

He is accused of cronyism, especially when he oversaw the privatization of key government assets. He denies any wrongdoing and says the charges are politically motivated.

Mr Abubakar will be hoping to unite the fractured opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), where cracks have emerged since his victory at the primary in June.

Some influential southern governors begrudge his emergence, saying it was the turn of the south to produce Nigeria’s next president after eight years of President Muhammadu Buhari, a northerner like Mr Abubakar.

His choice of a running mate has also stirred an open rebellion within the party, with many believing that the snub of the highly influential governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike, might prove costly.

A popular figure within the party, Mr Wike was considered the overwhelming favourite, having lost out in the presidential primary, but Mr Abubakar instead chose Delta state governor Ifeanyi Okowa.

Outside his party, Mr Abubakar faces a formidable opponent in Bola Tinubu, the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and a bourgeoning youth-driven campaign led by the Labour Party’s Peter Obi who is targeting votes in traditional PDP areas in southern Nigeria.

There is also the challenge of convincing young Nigerians that he is a suitable choice, given his age, and that he is a break from the political class many have lost confidence in.

An affable, enterprising figure, Mr Abubakar moves adroitly between the worlds of commerce and politics – qualities that, his supporters say, will help him unite the country and revive the economy.

He has been involved in Nigerian elections for decades and has recently fluctuated between the two dominant parties, the APC and PDP – where he was a founding member, seeking a shot at the presidency.

His first exit from the PDP, in 2006, coincided with an investigation into his record as vice-president, when he was accused of diverting $125m (£95m) worth of public funds towards his business interests.

Similar charges appeared in a 2010 US Senate report, which accused Mr Abubakar of having transferred $40m (£30.55m) of “suspect funds” to the US, using his American wife’s bank account.

The charges have never been tried in court, and Mr Abubakar has rejected the allegations of corruption as politically motivated. In January 2019, he visited Washington DC, ending speculation that he was avoiding travel to the US because he might face arrest there.

He appeals to voters who want a revival of the economy and national unity, after seeing Mr Buhari administer a period of economic stagnation and accusations of ethnicity in political appointments.

Mr Abubakar’s reputation in business is linked to the spectacular rise of Intels, the oilfield logistics firm that he co-founded in 1982. From its original office in a shipping container, the company has grown into a multi-national, multi-billion naira operation, employing more than 10,000 people.

He has diverted part of his wealth to charitable causes, most notably establishing the prestigious American University in Adamawa state, northern Nigeria. The university has offered scholarships to some of the “Chibok girls” – survivors of a high-profile kidnapping by Islamist Boko Haram militants.

Mr Abubakar regards himself as a lucky beneficiary of the Western-style education offered at the university and fiercely opposed by Boko Haram. He was born in Adamawa to a devout Muslim family, and his father, a Fulani tradesman and herder, was briefly jailed for preventing him from attending school.

“Father was responding typically with fear and anxiety to the onslaught of change in Nigeria,” Mr Abubakar wrote sympathetically in his autobiography.

After finishing his studies, he joined the customs service, serving at Lagos port and airport. “Corruption was rife in Customs but I was not part of it,” he wrote. “I saw Customs… as a way of making money for the government.”

While still a civil servant, Mr Abubakar began buying property and farmland for commercial purposes, eventually moving into the emerging market for oil and gas services. “I recognised very early in life that I have a good nose for business,” he wrote in a chapter of his autobiography entitled, Making Money.

His career in customs brought him into contact with the military and political elite, two categories that have been interchangeable for much of Nigeria’s recent history. Mr Abubakar grew close to the former army major, Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, regarding him as a political mentor.

While Nigeria was still under military rule, the two men began networking with other regional leaders, hoping to form a credible government-in-waiting.

In 1989, Mr Abubakar quit the civil service to dedicate himself to politics. He made his first presidential run in 1992, as a candidate for the faction that had gathered around Shehu Yar’Adua. He stepped down after coming third in the first round, and the election itself was later cancelled by the military government.

The repression intensified in the 1990s under the dictatorship of Gen Sani Abacha. Mr Abubakar was briefly exiled in London, while his mentor, Shehu Yar’Adua, was sent to prison, where he eventually died.

Mr Abubakar returned to Nigeria in 1997 as Gen Abacha relaxed his grip on power. He became vice-president after the elections in 1999 installed the PDP candidate, Olusegun Obasanjo, in the presidency.

During two terms in office, he oversaw a series of privatisations, earning praise as a liberaliser in some quarters, and criticism elsewhere as a crony capitalist.

In his autobiography, he took credit for reforming the banking sector, the auction of mobile phone licences, as well as for an economic boom that enabled Nigeria to pay off much of its debt.

Mr Abubakar, from north-eastern Adamawa state, says he will bring back the good times if elected president in 2023.

He has four wives and 28 children.

MORE:

• Managing Director of Cocoa Processing Company resigns

• Christian Atsu’s wife breaks silence

• Christian Atsu paid my fees till I graduated — Nigerian comedian

In a country that seems to always be on the lookout for a messiah to solve its myriad problems, young social media-savvy supporters have elevated Mr Obi to sainthood and are backing his largely unknown Labour Party against two septuagenarian political heavyweights.

The way he has attracted supporters seems to border on populism – a tag he and his supporters would denounce, but some of his rhetoric might be encouraging that.

“It’s time to take your country back,” he often says.

“[This election] is the old against the new,” he told the BBC.

His name is often trending on social media on the back of numerous conversations sparked by his supporters, instantly recognisable from their display picture of his image or the white, red and green logo of his party.

These are mostly urban under-30s who refer to themselves as the “Coconut-head generation”, because they are strong-willed, independent-minded and contemptuous of older politicians who, they say, have done little for them.

Many of them, like Dayo Ekundayo from the eastern city of Owerri, were involved in the EndSars protests that forced the disbandment of a notorious police department two years ago and also morphed into calls for better government.

Now, they are deploying the same strategies that mobilised hundreds of thousands of young Nigerians and raised millions of naira within weeks for the 61-year-old who they consider an alternative to the two parties that have dominated politics since the end of military rule in 1999.

“Which Nigerian politician has ever held office and has his integrity intact? I do not see any other logical option for young people in Nigeria,” said Mr Ekundayo.

He has already been involved in a march for Mr Obi, and is providing logistics and mobilising students for the campaign as he did during the EndSars protests.

But opponents say Mr Obi is a political impostor, one of many who spring up at election time with delusions of being a third force that will wrestle power from the traditional parties.

Many supporters of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and neutral observers agree he is head and shoulders above the other candidates, but say he lacks the nationwide popularity to win the election and have warned his supporters that they risk wasting their votes.

They believe he is a distraction from the common goal of removing the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) from office, and could split the opposition vote.

A devout Catholic from eastern Nigeria, they point to his lack of popularity in the Muslim-dominated north, whose votes are considered critical in winning presidential elections.

But Mr Obi and his running-mate Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed have had strong showings at party rallies in the north, attracting large crowds in states where the popularity of the Labour Party was doubted – although such crowds can be hired by politicians.

His critics also question whether he truly represents a break from the corruption he routinely lambasts, pointing out that his name popped up in the leaked Pandora Papers which exposed the hidden wealth of the rich and powerful in 2021.

While he was not accused of stealing money, he failed to declare offshore accounts and assets held by family members, citing ignorance.

He was also accused of investing state funds, as governor, into a company he had dealings with. He denied any wrongdoing and points out that the value of the investment has since grown.

Mr Obi repeatedly says he is not desperate to be president, which is ironic for a man who has changed parties four times since 2002.

He dumped the PDP just days before its presidential primary in May and the party went on to choose the 75-year-old former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as its presidential flagbearer.

Critics say he pulled out of the contest because he knew his chances of winning were slim but he cited wrangling within the PDP, where he was a vice-presidential candidate in 2019, for deciding to cross over to the Labour Party.

His supporters are also convinced that he was pushed out of the PDP because he refused to bribe delegates at the party primary and have coined the phrase: “We don’t give shishi (money)” as a buzzword for his famed frugality and his prudence in managing government funds in a country with a history of wasteful expenditure by public officers.

They regard him as an unconventional politician prepared to take on the APC and PDP behemoths seen as different sides of the same coin, who they accuse of dipping their fingers into the public purse.

There is also a religious and ethnic twist to his candidacy.

In a country where roughly half the population is Christian, his supporters hope that this will bolster his chances of winning, as after eight years of President Muhammadu Buhari they would not want another Muslim – the APC’s Bola Tinubu, 70, or the PDP’s Mr Abubakar – to take office.

And while he has downplayed his religion, Mr Obi has become a constant face at the large auditoriums of Nigeria’s Pentecostal churches, to rapturous receptions, and he has also singled out Christian communities in the north for visits.

This has drawn criticism from opponents who accuse him of bigotry and trying to create divisions through religion, accusations he has denied.

Some also support Mr Obi because of his ethnic background. Igbos make up the country’s third largest ethnic group, but Nigeria has had only one Igbo president, largely ceremonial, since it freed itself from British colonial rule in 1960.

Many Igbos accuse successive Nigerian governments of marginalising them and hope that Mr Obi will rise to power so that the south-east, where most of them live, would see greater development and so counter the pull of secession groups like the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob).

Critics say he is a supporter of Ipob, a group designated as a terror organisation by Nigeria, but he told the BBC that he is a firm believer in Nigeria and that his position on the different “agitations across the country” is to dialogue and reach a consensus.

He said Nigeria’s number one priority is the issue of insecurity because it has become an existential one “that must be dealt head-one decisively”.

“If you deal with it [security] today, you deal with inflation because farmers would go back to farms and that would reduce food inflation,” he said.

A philosophy graduate, he worked in his family’s retail businesses before going on to make his own money, importing everything from salad cream to beauty products, and baked beans to champagne, while also owning a brewery and holding major shares in three commercial banks.

You can normally recognise a Nigerian billionaire from a mile off but Mr Obi is thrifty and wears it as a mark of pride.

He is quick to point out that he owns just two pairs of black shoes from midmarket British chain Marks and Spencer, prefers a $200 suit from Stein Mart to a $4,000 Tom Ford suit, and always insists on carrying his own luggage, rather than paying someone else to do it for him.

Even his children are not spared his frugality. His 30-year-old son was denied a car, he said, while his other child is a happy primary school teacher – a rarity in a country where a politician’s name often opens doors to more lucrative jobs.

The OBIdients

Despite the financial controversy, his tenure as governor of Anambra state has become a reference point for his presidential campaign.

His supporters point out that he invested heavily in education and paid salaries on time – the simple things that most Nigerian state governors tend to neglect.

He also left huge savings in state coffers at the end of his two four-year tenures, another rarity.

But Frances Ogbonnaya, a university student in Anambra state when Mr Obi was governor, is surprised by the praises being sung in his name, describing his tenure as unremarkable.

“Who saves money in the face of hunger? Who saves money in the face of a lack of facilities?” she asked rhetorically.

But it is his reputation for frugality and sound management that has attracted a horde of supporters, known as OBIdients.

Some have been accused of cyberbullying and labelling anyone who does not vote for him in next year’s election an enemy of the state.

He responded with a tweet calling on his supporters to “imbibe the spirit of sportsmanship”, but it has done little to calm them down.

They are quick to remind anyone who tells them that elections aren’t won on Twitter, that data from the electoral body shows a jump in new registered voters, most of them young people.

But this is not the same as actually turning out to vote on election day.

With weeks to the election, there is no denying the momentum behind Mr Obi but cynics also point to the lack of a nationwide party structure to support the view that, while possible, an Obi presidency remains highly improbable.

“The structure that has kept us where we are, the structure that has produced the highest number of people in poverty in any country, the structure that has produced the highest number of out of school children, that is the structure we want to remove,” he said.

He retorted that his structure is “the 100 million Nigerians that live in poverty [and] the 35 million Nigerians who don’t know where their next meal will come from”.

If half of those turn out to vote him on election day, it might very well be all that he needs.

MORE:

• Christian Atsu paid my fees till I graduated — Nigerian comedian

• Christian Atsu’s twin sister, elder brother were present when body was recovered – Ministry

• I met my wife online; 10 interesting facts about Joe Mettle you didn’t know

The West African country goes to the polls on Saturday, February 25, 2023.

The founder and CEO of Atta Mills Institute, Samuel Koku Anyidoho, is in Lagos, Nigeria, as part of the 250-member Observer Mission and is accompanied by another member of AMI, Maxwell Okamafo-Addo.

The Atta Mills Institute joined ECOWAS Observer Missions in Guinea, Conakry and Cotonou, Benin for elections in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

The Head of the ECOWAS Mission is former President of Sierra Leone, His Excellency Ernest Bai Koroma, and has as his Deputy, His Excellency Alhaji Baba Kamara, Ghana’s High Commissioner to Nigeria and Permanent Representative to ECOWAS during the tenure of President John Evans Atta Mills.

The election is being contested by 18 political parties duly registered with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of Nigeria, with four major ones being visibly dominant – the ruling All-Progressive Congress, the People’s Democratic Party, the Labour Party (LP), and the New Nigerian People’s Party.

This year’s election seems to be very intriguing since Nigeria returned to democratic governance in 1999 after years of military rule

The total number of registered voters is estimated around 95 million and expectations are very high amidst a change of the naira, which has caused a shortage of the currency.

Many International Observers are in Nigeria alongside ECOWAS – including the African Union and the European Union.
Local civil society groups have also been accredited by INEC.

The delegation will be there from the 22nd to the 28th of February 2023 to observe the electoral processes before, during and after.

The delegation is being headed by former President of Sierra Leone, H.E. Ernest Bai Koroma.

Alhaji Kamara’s appointment follows an invitation from the President of the ECOWAS commission.

He was Ghana’s High Commissioner to Nigeria and Permanent Representative to ECOWAS during the tenure of late former President John Evans Atta Mills.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Atta Mills institute, Samuel Koku Anyidoho, is also in Lagos Nigeria as a member of the elections observer’s mission.

Many International Observers are in Nigeria alongside ECOWAS – including the African Union and the European Union with local civil society groups also being accredited by the INEC.

The Nigerian election is being contested by 18 political parties duly reserved with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), of Nigeria, with four major ones being visibly dominant – the ruling All-Progressive Congress (APC), the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the Labour Party (LP), and the New Nigerian People’s Party (NNPP).

In all, some 95 million Nigerians have registered with the independent national electoral commission to take part in the voting where expectations are very high amidst a change of the naira, which has caused a shortage of the local currency.

The upcoming general election in Nigeria has further exposed the extent to which its democratic institutions are fragile.

As one of the largest counties on the continent, Nigeria for many years has had a checkered political history laced with military interventions some of which have been very brutal particularly the era under the late Sani Abacha.

The issues that have largely dominated the current politicking in Nigeria include but not limited to activities of extremist groups like Boko Haram, conflicts, marginalization and exclusion, especially in the northern sections, a rise in political and criminal violence, loss of control of borders, rising ethnic, religious, and cultural hostilities, weak institutions, food shortages and unemployment coupled with high level governmental and political corruption.

These challenging life-threatening realities make the 2023 general election a defining moment for the country which in turn make it imperative that Nigerians will elect a person who is bred out from the old corrupt institutionalized establishment to replace Buhari as president.

The candidate who gets elected as President must show a clear-cut appreciation of all the issues confronting the country and have a well-mapped strategy to save this sleeping African giant of a country such as Nigeria.

Nigerians have followed the campaign messages and manifestoes and therefore are expected to make informed decisions as to who better must lead the country in the next four years.

The piece is intended to expose and open the eyes of those who continue to view Nigeria as a country with many failed possibilities rather than a new awakening that, this African giant has all it takes to change the course of social, economic and political development on the continent for the next decade.

ALSO READ:

Nigeria elections 2023: How influencers are secretly paid by political parties

Nigerian election: Universities to be closed down

The critical nature of the upcoming general election also is what may have informed the choices of those who must be deployed as observers of the elections in that country because they better understand the African narrative than those who have tended to look at the bad of the continent all the time.

Within the international space every step must be taken especially moderating voices to ensure Nigeria sails through this election with as little difficulty as possible because, in the global space, Nigeria can’t remain silent anymore.

International relations allow nations to cooperate with one another, pool resources, and share information as a way to face global issues that go beyond any particular country or region.

The BBC’s Global Disinformation Team has spoken to whistle-blowers working for two of Nigeria’s political parties, and prominent influencers who have described it as “an industry”.

The whistle-blowers say parties give out cash, lavish gifts, government contracts and even political appointments for their work.

We changed their names to protect their identity. “Yemi” is a prominent strategist and “Godiya” a politician.

“We’ve paid an influencer up to 20m naira ($45,000; £37,000) for delivering a result. We’ve also given people gifts. Other people prefer to hear: ‘What do you want to do in government, be a board member, be a special assistant?’,” says Godiya.

Situation rooms are commonplace in the run-up to an election. It’s where political parties strategise, develop plans and monitor their campaigns’ success. But in the rooms the whistle-blowers described to us, there was another function: following how false narratives assigned to influencers were performing.

Strategist Yemi says fake stories are developed to improve their candidates’ chances: “You can deliberately misinform in a suitable way for you.”

The BBC has spoken to multiple influencers who have confirmed that payment in exchange for false political posts is widespread.

One influencer who asked not to be named – with almost 150,000 Facebook followers – told us he is paid by political parties to post completely false stories about political opponents. He says he does not do it openly but rather plants false stories through other micro-influencers he hires.

Separately, Rabi’u Biyora is a major influencer known for supporting the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) party.

He told us he was “wooed” by an opposition party to stop promoting the APC’s candidate, and give his support to their candidate instead.

Posts on his Facebook timeline confirm he did just that. He told us he did not receive gifts of any kind to do so. But we discovered a Facebook post from 2019 in which he said he received a car and money from a party in exchange for his support on social media.

We put this finding to him, but he stopped responding to us.

Tactics

With an estimated 80 million Nigerians online, social media plays a huge role in national debates about politics. Our investigation uncovered different tactics used to reach more people on Twitter. Many play on divisive issues such as religious, ethnic and regional differences.

In July, influencers widely shared posts associating Kashim Shettima, the APC’s candidate for vice-president, with members of the Islamist militant group Boko Haram.

This false narrative gained momentum on Twitter and was shared thousands of times, spilling onto WhatsApp and other platforms.

Using reverse image search, we found that those in the picture with Mr Shettima were nomadic Fulani parents whose children he had enrolled in secular schools in 2017, not members of Boko Haram.

A month later, influencers promoted a claim without evidence that Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi was linked to, and following orders from, the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob) – a separatist movement designated in Nigeria as a terror group. His party denies this.

Those who shared this information included Reno Omokri – special assistant to former opposition President Goodluck Jonathan – who has more than two million followers on Twitter.

When approached for a comment, Reno Omokri said he stands by his accusations, but insists he has not been paid by the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to campaign on their behalf.

Meanwhile, false claims that the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, fell ill and was rushed out of the country have been shared several times on Twitter.

Godiya, the politician we interviewed, says political parties tell influencers to elicit as much emotion as they can with their paid posts.

“We use images that may not even be relevant to the story we are trying to spin. We can take pictures from East Africa in the 1990s in warzones and attach them to a tweet about how my ethnic group is being killed. When people get emotional they retweet, they like, and it gets traction,” she says.

According to the whistle-blowers, the hired influencers are sometimes given an idea that they should frame in their own words. At other times, they are given the actual tweets that need to be published at specific times.

They say influencers are paid based on the number of followers they have. They also say payment happens mostly in cash to avoid a paper trail.

Moral compass

It is not illegal for political parties to hire social media influencers in Nigeria, but spreading disinformation on social media is a breach of the country’s laws and Twitter’s policy.

The BBC has asked Nigeria’s main political parties, APC, PDP, and the Labour Party, about the whistle-blowers’ allegations. They did not reply to our request for comment.

In response to our findings, Twitter has taken down some of the accounts we reported to them and said it had a responsibility to protect electoral conversations from interference, manipulation, and false information.

However, there are concerns about the platform’s capacity to tackle misinformation in Africa after Elon Musk’s takeover of the company, when its continental headquarters in Ghana was closed and nearly all its staff fired.

The BBC has reached out to Twitter again after these changes, but received no response.

Idayat Hassan, director at the Centre for Democracy and Development, says the activities of these influencers amounted to “political interference”.

“It is undermining trust in democracy, undermining trust in the electoral system, and it is instigating conflict,” she says.

But politician Godiya sees it a different way, and defends the tactic: “It is a game. Somebody had to win, and God help me, I will not be on the losing side.”

MORE:

• Nana Agradaa cries over small offertory in church [Video]

• Dr Likee reveals history behind his stage name

• Wife of popular musician joins NDC parliamentary race

Earlier reports suggest that President Akufo-Addo has endorsed Peter Obi by writing to the presidential candidate of his opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to “give Peter Obi a chance and seek treatment for his health.”

Describing the reports as disturbing, President Akufo-Addo stated emphatically that “this is completely false and mischievous, with no iota of truth whatsoever in it.”

In a tweet, he denies any of such letter has been written and added that it has not even occurred to him to do so.

He touched on the decades of cordial, strong and brotherly relations Ghana has with Nigeria, for which he said he would not do anything to interfere in the internal affairs and politics of Nigeria.

Nigeria will hold presidential election on February 25, 2023 and three candidates from the three major parties are vying for the topmost position.

They are Bola Tinubu of the APC, Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party.

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Wednesday elected veteran Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as its candidate, while the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), has another veteran Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, as its candidate for the country’s 2023 presidential election.

In a tweet Wednesday, Charly Boy who describes himself as ‘Father of frustrated Nigerians’, intimated he would not expect either of them to do better in office than current President Buhari and would rather relocate to Ghana to seek Ghanaian citizenship. He said Buhari will look like a saint with either of the two in office.

“If any of these two jagbajantis win, I go just leave una walker go Ghana, go beg dem for citizenship. Buhari will look like a saint”, he tweeted alongside portraits of the two candidates.

Vanguard Nigeria reports that Tinubu won the APC presidential primary election with 1,271 votes on Wednesday, defeating Nigeria’s former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

Amaechi polled 316 votes to place second while Osinbajo secured 235 votes and came third.

Charly Boy’s tweet has since received varying reactions, with some agreeing with his pessimism while some think he would do better to embark on his relocation bid since Ghana is not too far away.

You can start now sir. It’s not too late. One will win

— 2023 ?? Elections (Feb 25th&11 March (@TheRofem) June 8, 2022

The problem of this country that even the youth that their future is being denied are happy that either of these two old men will win.Even Tinubu that could not even hold the Apc flag .i dey shame for some of our youth

— TAQUIN (@TAQUIN28754590) June 9, 2022

Two bad choices no sensible Nigerian living in Nigeria should chose come 2023. My PVC is already against them.

— Kelechi John Iheanacho (@KelechiJohnIhe1) June 8, 2022

Nigeria were to hold their Presidential elections on Saturday, February 16, 2019, to elect a new President for the country but was postponed, the Presidential Election which was originally scheduled to come off on, February 16, 2018 to Saturday, has been moved to February 23, 2019.

READ: Vice President involved in accident, one dead

Already, political figures, actors, musicians and the entire Nigerian population have been gunning for one candidate against the other but only their vote will determine who emerges victor after the general elections on Saturday.

Delivering a sermon before his congregation on a church service day, Prophet Badu Kobi gave what he calls a prophetic message to Nigerians, claiming the elections will be a “do or die” affair.

He stated that there will be violent clashes between the opposition parties and ruling party in the general election.

READ: Menzgold customers threaten another demo in Tarkwa

The Prophet added that the Electoral Commissioner might be killed during the elections.

“Nigeria, there’s trouble ahead for your country. That election you think is coming to pass in February, there is a problem So, Nigerians must pray otherwise these elections, it is do or die. And the opposition is never ready to give it to the ruling government,” he said.

READ: There were no armed men at Ayawaso by-election – EC

“The ruling party of Nigeria wants to steal the elections from the North and it will be North fighting North. And the Electoral Commissioner who is on the side of the ruling party will have a problem. If he is not careful he will be killed,” he stated.

The coalition, including a faction of the governing party, plans to field a single candidate.

They say they want to “rescue the nation from further decline”.

Mr Buhari, whose first term has been blighted by ill health, says he will run in 2019.