Nigeria's Largest Pool Of Voters Divided Before Election

Nigeria's largest pool of voters divided before election

Maiduguri, Nigeria, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Nov, 2022 ) :Abacha Muyam and Babakura Alhaji Isa, friends from Bama in the northern Nigerian state of Borno, both voted for President Muhammadu Buhari in their country's elections in 2019.

Now the 41-year-old and 27-year-old are at odds over who should succeed their champion in next February's ballot.

Their disagreement symbolises much of the fragmented opinion in Nigeria's northern states -- a crucial electoral battleground.

Megacity Lagos in the predominantly Christian south of the country has the most registered voters, but it is the mainly Muslim northern states that historically record higher levels of turnout.

Their support delivered the presidency to Buhari in the last two elections, but now voters and analysts say the region appears more splintered.

Sitting next to each other on a mat under a tree in Borno's capital Maiduguri, Muyam said he would vote for Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party, and Isa for Atiku Abubakar of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Sixteen other candidates are running for the top job, including Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).

"The north tends to vote along the same line," Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, spokesman of an influential socio-political organisation, the Northern Elders Forum, told AFP.

But "it's not substantially committed" yet, he said. "We still have a long way to go."That means, he said, the region was open to candidates "who want to convince as many of us as possible that they are serious about our problems."