An opposition boycott threat and bloody clashes with Islamic militants on Wednesday raised tensions ahead of Nigeria’s presidential election — the most closely watched poll since independence.
A group of 18 opposition parties said the national election commission should be disbanded and Saturday’s presidential ballot postponed until ”transparency and fairness” can be guaranteed.
The group also called for the results to be annulled of last weekend’s regional polls, which were criticised as fraudulent by the international community and triggered violence that left 20 dead.
If these conditions are not fulfilled, the parties ”shall consider not participating in the [presidential] election”, the parties said in a statement late on Tuesday.
The ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) insisted that the elections will go ahead on schedule.
”There will be no postponement. We’re not going to stop a democratic process because of the personal ambitions of one or two candidates,” said John Odey, a PDP external-relations official.
”We will not abandon democracy. The PDP is ready for elections. The electoral process is credible”, he added, insisting that last weekend’s regional polls were ”free, fair and transparent”.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Nigerian troops shot dead 25 heavily armed members of an Islamist group that had attacked a police station the previous day in the northern city of Kano, killing 12 police officers and one civilian.
”I understand that our troops killed at least 25 members of the criminal group terrorising Kano. The operation to flush them out is still on,” said army spokesperson Colonel Ayo Olaniyan.
An Agence France-Presse correspondent saw several hundred residents fleeing the fighting.
”The entire place is under bombardment. That is why we have to flee,” a resident said.
The Islamist attack on the police station was believed to have been a bid to avenge the killing of a radical Muslim cleric and two of his followers in a mosque in a Kano suburb last week.
Saturday’s presidential vote is expected to usher in Nigeria’s first civilian-to-civilian handover since the country gained independence from Britain in 1960.
The main challengers to the ruling-party candidate, Umaru Yar’Adua, are Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and General Muhamadu Buhari, a former military ruler.
The election commission initially excluded Abubakar from the initial list of approved candidates following corruption allegations, but it was later forced to reverse its decision after the Supreme Court ruled it had overstretched its powers.
The move was a setback for outgoing President Olusegun Obasanjo, who has been trying to ensure an easy ride for Yar’Adua.
Abubakar has been Obasanjo’s deputy since 1999. But a dispute between the two escalated last August when the president openly accused his deputy of corruption and had him investigated.
The regional elections last weekend were criticised as fraudulent by the European Union, the United States and rights watchdogs such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. — AFP
