Nigeria’s day of decision is here and Nigerians are ready to go out en-masse to vote for the presidential candidate of their choice.
Whoever is elected in the presidential election this Saturday will be sworn in on May 29, 2019 and run the affairs of the nation for the next four years.
Although there are quite a number of candidates of the different political parties contesting for the exalted position of the president, the battle is undoubtedly between President Muhammadu Buhari and former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
Buhari is the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, while Atiku runs on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
PDP is the leading opposition party in the country.
While APC is battling to retain the position which it won in 2015 ousting the PDP which had been in the saddle for 16 years, the PDP is committed to returning to power.
With campaigns which took different dimensions, both parties had moved from issues to personal attacks on their candidates and other key political actors.
Largely, Buhari has been at different times, accused of incompetence and dictatorial tendencies while Atiku is to a reasonable extent blamed for being part of the leaders that plunged the country into its present socio-economic hardship via corrupt practices.
While Buhari is being promoted as Mr. Integrity, Atiku is considered to possess the business expertise to run an economically successful nation.
Needless to say Nigerians have been sharply divided over who should be the president between Buhari and Atiku. Claims and counter-claims have been made over the appropriateness or otherwise of the different candidates for the post.
Suspicion of possible rigging plots have been made at different times against the different parties, and against that backdrop, the federal government has given the assurance that there will be a level-playing field for all.
In addition all security agencies are said to be ready to ensure that a peaceful atmosphere prevails before, during and after the election.
President Buhari, during the week, gave an order to security agencies to deal ruthlessly with anyone found to be snatching ballot boxes on the day of election, a development which angered PDP and some other persons and organisations.
Their argument was that the president was preaching violence and dictatorship, as there were normal procedures for dealing with such criminals.
It would be recalled that the general election which was to kick off last Saturday with the Presidential and National Assembly election was postponed by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, following problems of logistics.
Everything, according to the Chairman of INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, has however been put in place and all is set for the election.
According to him, the election would start by 8.00 a.m.
His words: “All arrangements are now in place to facilitate opening of polls at 8 a.m. on Saturday.”
He stated further: “We engaged 825,543 ad-hoc staff ranging from presiding officers to collation and returning officers.
“We have mobilised 80,000 commercial vehicles and about 996 boats for the deployment of personnel and materials.
“The materials include 707,892 ballot boxes and voting cubicles, and we are mobilising these to various locations by land and sea.
“We have accredited 120 domestic and 36 international observer groups, deploying an accumulative number of 73,000 observers.
“We have concluded the movement of personnel, materials to the 774 local and 8809 RACs nationwide,” he said.
“All arrangements are now in place to facilitate opening of polls at 8 a.m. on Saturday.”
As Nigerians go out to vote, the choice of the candidate they want as the president will be clear. It is decision day and Nigerians are ready to make use of it.
