Commonwealth observers in Nigeria

Members of the Commonwealth Observer Group have arrived in Nigeria for the country’s general elections scheduled for February 16.

The group led by former Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, will be deployed to various regions of the country, to observe preparations for polling day.

They met with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the country’s capital Abuja, on Monday.

“The last Commonwealth Observer Mission recommended that we should abolish that archaic system, that as citizens or voters are accredited, they should be able to vote at the same time. And we have implemented this recommendation way back in January 2016, when we conducted one of the governorship elections in this country. Since then, we have conducted 194 off-season elections, and all have been conducted on the basis of simultaneous accreditation and voting,” said Mahmood Yakubu, Chair of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa and a key member of the Commonwealth.

This marks the sixth time a Commonwealth Observer Group follows elections in Nigeria since 1999.

The role of observer missions is considered key for the upcoming elections in Nigeria, since previous elections have allegedly been marred with irregularities and fraud.