Nigerians return to the polls today, 2023 to elect state governors across the country, with all 109 seats of the Nigerian Senate up for grabs.
Elections for 28 of the 36 states whose governors include the most influential politicians in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy and largest oil producer.
All 18 political parties have nominated candidates for 28 governorship/deputy governorship seats in 28 states out of 36 and 993 State House constituencies in 36 states.
The first phase of Nigeria’s 2023 General Election was held on Saturday, February 25, when the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, and members of the federal parliament were elected. Next the governor.
The second phase of the election scheduled for March 11, 2023 has been postponed to Saturday, March 18, 2023 and on that day, new governors will be elected for 28 of Nigeria’s 36 states. New members of parliament will also be elected to the House of Assembly in 36 countries.
Countries that do not hold elections
Governorship elections were not held this time in Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi, Osun and Ondo, because the polls to the office of the governorship of these states are held in cycles and are not part of general elections.
The Presidential, several Senate and House of Representatives elections will be held simultaneously on February 25, 2023. State assembly elections (36 states) and gubernatorial elections (28 states) will be held on March 18, and gubernatorial elections will be held in Imo, Kogi, and Bayelsa States on fall 2023.
Nigeria is a federal republic in the sense that there is a national government and the government of 36 states and uses a form of government where the people hold the power, but elect representatives to exercise and use that power with the executive power exercised by the president.
Government structure
The president is the head of state, the head of government, and also the head of the multi-party system and Nigeria’s political system takes place in the framework of a federal, presidential, representative democratic republic, where executive power is exercised by the government. .
The legislative power is held by the federal government and two legislative chambers: the House of Representatives and the Senate, the legislative branch of Nigeria is responsible and has the power to formulate and make laws. The executive arm of the government, the Nigerian National Assembly (NASS) is a democratically elected body that represents the interests of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and its people. , makes the law for Nigeria and holds the Nigerian Government to account.
Election System
The Senate consists of 109 members elected for a four-year term by majority vote. Each state is divided into three senatorial districts, each electing one senator. One senator is also elected from the Federal Capital Territory.
The House of Representatives consists of 360 members who are elected by simple majority vote in single-member constituencies and serve four-year terms.
During the last election in 2019, the All Progressives Congress (APC) won a majority with 64 seats. The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) won 44 seats, and the Young Progressive Party (YPP) won one seat, reducing the number of parties represented in the Senate from 6 to 3. The number of voters was 35.66 percent.
The disputed presidential election
Two weeks after the disputed presidential election that saw the former Senator of Lagos, Bola Tinubu of the APC emerge as President-elect but the main focus of the governorship election is the race to lead Lagos, the economic heartbeat of the country and the richest country and control a bigger budget than the smaller states .
Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) was declared the winner of the presidential election with 39 percent of the vote. But he lost in his home state of Lagos to opposition candidate Peter Obi of the Labor Party, who is aiming to upset the APC again in the state.
Lagos is important to Tinubu because it is where he built his political and financial base, serving as governor for two terms until 2007 and playing a key role in electing each of his successors. Losing Lagos could erode Tinubu’s influence in the country of more than 20 million people.
Race for Lagos state
According to analysts, it has never happened before that the party of a sitting Nigerian president does not control his country of origin. Tinubu, through the APC and its constituents, has always been in charge of Lagos politics.
Lagos is Africa’s largest economic commercial center, has a thriving technology sector, generates the most revenue in Nigeria and has the continent’s largest seaport. It is also where Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, built his multi-billion dollar oil refinery complex.
Buoyed by Obi’s performance in Lagos, the Labor Party of Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, an architect and political activist, will battle with APC incumbent Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who has been in the ranks of the Lagos state government for two decades.
The seat of the governor
The APC has governorships in 21 states, while the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has 14. The Labor Party is aiming to win its first governorship in this cycle. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will be scrutinized after handling the February 25 vote.
Source: graphic.com.gh
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