2019 election: US institute names 8 states with high risk of violence

The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) has listed the states that could be hit by violence during the 2019 general elections in Nigeria.

The institute said there is the likelihood of violence in, at least, eight states during the election.

This was part of USIP report it released on the forthcoming general elections.

The institute said the report was based on its interactions with Nigerians from different sectors.

It had also predicted in the report that President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress, APC, may win the 2019 presidential election.

According to USIP, “states such as Adamawa, Anambra, Ekiti, Kaduna, Kano, Lagos, Plateau, and Rivers are of greater risks of election violence.”

USIP added that it was up to the combined efforts of political parties, security agencies and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to curb violence in the election.

“Nigerians feared, however, that any regression from the level of performance achieved by INEC in 2015 could lead to violence, because some would view the failings not as a result of incompetence, but as deliberate attempts to frustrate the will of the voters.

“Some states have developed successful election conflict-mitigation practices. In the short amount of time remaining, INEC and the police should undertake a number of key reforms,” it said.

“The United States, along with other international supporters of the electoral process, should also intensify their efforts to reinforce the work of these key Nigerian institutions.

“Beyond institutional support, rather than apply a conventional approach to electoral violence mitigation, donor programming should adapt to Nigeria’s current context, political shifts, and opportunities, and be sufficiently flexible to respond to the risks distinct in each of Nigeria’s states.

“In advance of the election, international diplomatic efforts to preempt electoral violence need to be intensified. Regional and international actors should convey their expectations that political parties effectively address their internal disputes, and be ready to put on notice politicians responsible for escalating these disputes,” it added.