Expectations are very high in Nigeria today as millions head to the polls to elect the next president and National Assembly members old and new.
With many describing the historic presidential poll as a three-horse race, the consensus is that this is Nigeria’s most competitive to date.
Nelsdaily will give you the latest on the polls as it unfolds.
According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Nigeria’s voter register totals 94 million, and no fewer than 87.2 million of them have obtained their permanent voter cards (PVCs) in anticipation of the nationwide vote today as well as on March 11 for the governorship and state houses of assembly elections.
The top three states in collected PVCs are Lagos (6,214,970), Kano (5,594,193) and Kaduna (4,335,208).
No fewer than 4,241 contenders are slugging it out at the polls for the only 470 federal elective offices on the ballot.
The presidential race is populated by 18 hopefuls and their running mates. On the legislative side, INEC listed 1,101 candidates in the running for 109 senatorial seats, while 3,122 candidates would vie for 360 House of Representatives seats.
In total, 4,223 candidates were initially expected to contest 469 federal legislative offices.
However, that number will see a slight drop with INEC’s suspension of the poll in the Enugu East senatorial district over the gruesome murder of the Labour Party candidate, Oyibo Chukwu, three days ago.
The Enugu East election has been postponed to March 11.
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