Nigeria elections postponed for six weeks

Global Business

Nigeria’s highly-anticipated presidential election is on hold for another six weeks. The government wanted ensure that there were enough soldiers to protect voters when they head to the polls, but the delay may have far-reaching financial consequences for the candidates. CCTV’s Deji Badmus reported this story from Lagos, Nigeria.

Nigeria elections postponed for six weeks

Nigeria's highly-anticipated presidential election is on hold for another six weeks. The government wanted ensure that there were enough soldiers to protect voters when they head to the polls, but the delay may have far-reaching financial consequences for the candidates. CCTV's Deji Badmus reported this story from Lagos, Nigeria.

It was predicted to be the most expensive elections on record in the country, with but the six-week postponement, Nigeria’s 2015 general elections have now gotten even more expensive.

The postponement means more time for political campaigning.

“It’s very expensive, and it depends also on the position you’re looking for, how wide the constituency is, how enlightened the electorates are,” Chima Nnaji, a former politician who once ran a failed bid to governor of his state.

The shift in election date could breed more corruption, said Lanre Suraj, a civil society leader at the Network of Civil Society Against Corruption that has been fighting corruption and pushing for openness in campaign financing.

“None of these politicians spend their personal money on [the] electoral process and election again. They plunge their hands into the coffers to retrieve monies that are meant for projects and development to fund many of these presidential campaigns. So it means for the next six weeks, the country and our treasury is in trouble,” Suraj said.

Despite a law stipulating what politicians should spend while running for office, political parties spend far beyond what the law requires and are very secretive when it comes to accounting for their spending. But beyond the cost to politicians, Suraj said the shifting of the election has cost others greatly.

“The international community and the observers would also have to bear such a huge cost, because you can imagine what it would already cost, for example, on changing flights. Quite a number of people would not be able to make it again on the new date,” he said.


Emira Woods of ThoughtWorks discusses Nigeria’s oil economy

CCTV America interviewed Emira Woods on the elections and the Nigerian economy. She’s the director of Social Impact Programs at ThoughtWorks.

Emira Woods of ThoughtWorks discusses Nigeria’s oil economy

CCTV America interviewed Emira Woods on the elections and the Nigerian economy. She's the director of Social Impact Programs at ThoughtWorks.