Retired president Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday held a consultative meeting with the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Olukayode Ariwoola, ahead of the country’s General Election on February 25.
Kenyatta, who is the head of the African Union Election Observers Mission (AUEOM), met the Nigerian Supreme Court president to understand the state of the judiciary preparedness to handle any matters arising in the upcoming polls.
A communiqué from the former president’s office said Ariwoola assured the observer mission of the judiciary’s readiness to resolve any arising electoral disputes, “highlighting the hierarchy of the established judicial processes.”
Kenyatta is leading the short-term election observation mission which comprises 90 members drawn from various AU Member States, representatives of Election Management Bodies, civil society organisations, independent experts, women and youth as well as AU organs.
The objectives of the mission include providing an accurate and impartial assessment of the electoral process, including the degree to which the conduct of the elections meets regional, continental and international standards for democratic elections.
The observers will also offer recommendations for improvement of future elections based on the findings and demonstrate AU’s solidarity and support towards consolidation of democracy, peace, stability and development in Nigeria.
“The AUEOM will engage with various stakeholders as well as observe the polling process. Based on the findings, AUEOM will issue its preliminary statement on the electoral process on 27 February 2023 in Abuja,” a statement issued by the AU on Tuesday said.
As the West African state goes to the polls in ten days, it has been plunged into crisis with dire shortages of cash and fuel, as well as insecurity.
Nearly 100 million people will vote for the successor to President Muhammadu Buhari, who has been leading Africa’s most populous for two terms.
Eighteen candidates in the race for Nigeria’s highest office but opinion polls suggest three are leading the race for the popular vote.
Some of the key contenders are Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Buhari’s All Progressives Congress (APC) party, and the main opposition leader and former vice president Atiku Abubakar, who is running under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
And while Nigeria’s presidential elections have typically been two-horse races between the ruling and opposition parties, this year’s vote has a third strong contender, Peter Obi, who is running under the lesser-known Labour Party.
