Insecurity, rancour between political parties, coupled with scarcities of fuel and the redesigned national currency, could mar Nigeria’s forthcoming elections, the International Crisis Group has warned. In a 26-page report published on February 10, titled Mitigating Violence Around Nigeria’s 2023 Elections, the global conflict prevention and peacebuilding group said the elections are taking place…
ICG referred to the activities of various armed groups – Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province in the North East, bandits in the North West and Biafra secessionist agitators and criminal impostors in the South East. The organisation warns that the situation could hamper election logistics. Moreover, hardship caused by these scarcities could render many voters more vulnerable to vote-buying.
The report also calls on the federal government to urgently boost supplies of fuel and currency notes and ensure they are adequately available, well before the elections. “Some of the factors underlying the friction are not new. Since Nigeria’s return to civilian rule in 1999, many people have made huge amounts of money by winning elected office.
“The sense of desperation pervading the camps of all three front runners is a source of rising tension among them and concern about how the losing parties’ candidates and supporters may react to defeat.