Nigeria to hold presidential election in April

Nigerian officials have said that the country will hold presidential elections on 9th April next year. Originally, the poll had been scheduled for January, but later delayed when the parliament approved constitutional changes.

Government officials said the delay was required to amend the voters' roll, largely regarded as flawed. In the past, Nigerian elections have been marred by conflict, violence and allegations of corruption.

The Independent National Election Commission said a parliamentary election would be held on 2nd April, a week before the presidential vote.

Nigeria's governing party the People's Democratic Party (PDP) has won all of Nigeria's presidential elections since the military rule ended in 1999. The candidacy of President Goodluck Jonathan has been challenged by four PDP members, including former vice-president Atiku Abubakar.

Source: BBC News

For more news and expert analysis about Nigeria, please see Nigeria Focus and Nigeria Politics & Security.

Dokpesi files lawsuit against Nigeria's secret police over bombings

Gen Ibrahim Babangida's election campaign chief Raymond Dokpesi has filed a lawsuit against Nigeria's secret police over his arrest in connection to the Independence Day bombings in Abuja. Dokpesi was one of nine people arrested over the twin car bombings, which killed at least 12 people. He is subsequently demanding $660,000 in damages.

Dokpesi, who owns the Africa Independent Television network, one of Nigeria's biggest, was freed approximately nine hours after being detained on 4th October. He says the arrest was "malicious".

Dokpesi is Gen Babangida's aide and is currently helping him run a campaign challenging President Goodluck Jonathan for the right to become Nigeria's governing party's presidential candidate. Upon Dokpesi arrested, police officials said they suspected him of exchanging text messages with the alleged mastermind behind the bombings, Henry Okah, who has been charged with terrorism offences in South Africa, where he is based.

Okah, former leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend), has denied any links to the blasts, but an e-mail purportedly sent by Mend said it had carried out the attacks.

On Monday, another candidate for the People's Democratic Party nomination Atiku Abubakar called for an international inquiry into the Independence Day bombings to ensure the investigations were not manipulated for political reasons.

Source: BBC News

For more news and expert analysis about Nigeria, please see Nigeria Focus and Nigeria Politics & Security.

General Babangida President Jonathan's biggest rival for PDP nomination

President Goodluck Jonathan formally declared his intention to stand for the presidency in 2011 at a rally in Abuja on 18th September amid indications that he is ahead of rivals in the delegate count for the ruling Peoples Democratic Party's (PDP) convention. His biggest challenger for the PDP nomination will be the former military head of state, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (IBB).

Jonathan made his first public declaration of his intention to contest the 2011 Presidential elections through social networking site, Facebook. He made the announcement on

Wednesday 15th September in what appeared to be an attempt to divert attention from the Babangida's formal declaration on the same day in Abuja.

Informal polling in Nigeria suggests that Jonathan is likely to secure twice as many delegates to the PDP convention as IBB. The other likely PDP challengers who have declared – former vice president Atiku Abubakar and Kwarra State governor Bukola Saraki - are expected to collect a much smaller numbers of delegates, mostly from their home areas

To secure the PDP nomination, the winning candidate must secure 51per cent of the 3483 delegates at the convention. Jonathan's main stronghold is in a broad area of the south, while Babangida's support in concentrated in the north-west.

There is now the prospect of four northerners seeking the PDP nomination – Babangida, Atiku Abubakar, Bukola Saraki and the now former National Security Adviser (NSA) retired Lt-Gen Aliyu Mohammed Gusau. With no unified candidate from the northern region to oppose him President Jonathan therefore enjoys a considerable advantage.

Concern that divisions will cost 'the North' the presidency has prompted the establishment of a Northern Presidential Aspirants Committee to find a single northern candidate at October's PDP convention. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) timetable is for the presidential election to take place on 22nd January while the gubernatorial and state house of assembly elections will be on 29th January. The PDP presidential primaries are scheduled to take place in late October.

However, a number of official sources said holding the elections in January, as initially planned, might prove difficult due to the fact that election officials are looking for ways to delay the poll so they could work on a credible voters' roll.

For more news and expert analysis about Nigeria, please see Nigeria Focus and Nigeria Politics & Security.

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