Religion not a factor in consideration in the February 2023 Nigerian Presidential elections, says API survey

Nigerian Presidential polls are also being seen as a litmus test for the fragile, fledgling democracy

@prashanthamine

New Delhi: More Nigerians, especially the youth, appear to be more concerned about the course of the February 25, 2023 Presidential election. According to a survey conducted by Africa Polling Institute (API) and BusinessDay in mid-July earlier this year revealed that 73% of Nigerians had given the polls a serious thought, that comprises people above the age of 60 years.

While a significant 81% of the respondents admitted that they had lost hope in the Nigerian election process. Most of the electorate is concerned about the economic revival. It is in this context that the February 2023 elections are being seen as the litmus test for fragile and fledgling democracy.

Nearly 67% of the respondents asserted that religion should not be the deciding factor and on who should lead Nigeria in 2023. While the rest of the country said No to religion as the deciding factor, 34% respondents from North-Central and 29% from South-South regions of the country maintained that religion did matter while deciding whom to vote for in 2023.

The survey concludes that 30% respondents felt that the new President will revive the economy, 29% of the respondents felt that the new President should show commitment towards tackling insecurity, and, 17% respondents felt that the new President should promote good governance and cohesion.

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In terms of socio-demography shows that the majority of Nigerians 85% from the North-East have shown great interest in the polls, 79% population from the North-Central region and 78% people from the North-West region. Broadly, 62% of respondents trusted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of Nigeria to conduct a hitch-free election.

Cumulatively, 93% were interested in the 2023 Presidential polls, out of which 92% respondents said that they were looking forward to voting in the elections. Interviews were conducted across the 36 states in Nigeria and conducted in the five major languages of Nigeria – English, Pidgin-English, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba.

On the question of what qualities should the new President possess, 64% respondents said that the next President should have the capacity and competence to revive the economy, 61% respondents affirmed that the next President should have a commitment to tackle the heightened insecurity, while 36% of the respondents felt that the new President must show commitment towards promoting good governance and cohesion.

As per the list of Presidential candidates and their running mates published by the INEC, 18 political parties have put up their candidates for the February 2023 elections. There are 36 candidates in the poll fray.

The main triangular contest appears to be between – All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP).

The APC has fielded former Governor of Lagos state Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the Presidential polls and his running mate is Ibrahim Masari. The PDP has fielded former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, while his running mate is Ifeanyi Okowa. The Labour Party has fielded Peter Obi and his running mate is Doyin Okupe.

According to pollsters, the main contest is between APC’s Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Labour Party’s Peter Obi. Simultaneous elections are also being held for the House of Representatives and the Senate as well. After the polls are over the inauguration of the new President is to be held on May 29, 2023 which is also the Democracy Day in Nigeria.

The incumbent President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari who belongs to the APC cannot stand for another third term in office. Under Nigerian law, a President is only allowed two terms in office. Hence, President Buhari has nominated Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Nigeria follows a two-round system in its Presidential elections. In the first round, a candidate is expected to garner the majority vote and 26% of the votes in at least 24 of the 36 states in the country.

If no candidate gets past the first round, then a second round of elections is held between the top candidates, and the next candidate to have received a plurality of votes in the highest number of states, is declared the winner.

Why economy and economic revival is on top of the agenda in these Presidential elections can be gauged from the fact that only 10 of the 36 states including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) of Abuja is considered developed. The 10 most developed states in Nigeria include – Lagos state, Anambra state, Rivers state, Abia, Enugu, Kano, Ogun, Akwa Ibom, Oyo state and FCT of Abuja.