Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Abuja (Agenzia Fides)- Umaru Yar'Adua t he candidate of the ruling People’s Democratic Party, PDP led by outgoing President Olusegun Obasanj has been declared the winner of Nigerian presidential elections on 21 April (see Fides 23 April 2007). The National electoral commission announced the Yar'Adua obtained 24,638,063 votes and his direct rivals, Muhammadu Buhari, candidate of ANPP All Nigeria Peoples Party, and vice president Atiku Abubakar, of Action Congress, obtained respectively 6,605,299 and 2,637,848 votes.
However the victory is rejected by the Opposition parties who call for the vote to be annulled and another election. Besides fraud denounced by international and local observers, the opposition protests the atmosphere of violence in which the elections were held. According the EU representatives, “at least 200 people, members of the police and candidates” were killed in episodes of electoral violence. A toll which for the European Union is “unacceptable”.
Despite calls for calm from the newly elected President, violent protests were staged, especially in the city of Kano, in the north of Nigeria, where demonstrators took to the streets and began burning tires and had to be dispersed by police with tear gas.
Yar'Adua is from the Delta region in the south, where most of the countries oil reserves are found. The people here hope that a representative in power may improve their chance of improving living conditions. In fact only a minimum part of oil profits has been used for the region, the enormous sums are dispersed by widespread corruption. Beyond regional differences, corruption is the real problem which should unite not divide Nigerians. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 24/4/2007 righe 27 parole 286)
