Nigeria’s hugely anticipated
presidential election is just 24
days away, and if you’re like most
people, you’re probably sick of
story after story about who should
rule Nigeria. But with all the
attention on President Goodluck
Jonathan and his primary
challenger Muhammadu Buhari,
most people have forgotten a few
key facts about Nigeria’s Election
2015.
2015 elections Here are a few
things you should know about the
people running for president:
1) It’s not a Jonathan vs Buhari
contest; There are more than
two candidates:
Actually there are 14 people
currently seeking Nigeria’s top
job. Local and international
coverage of the upcoming
presidential elections can easily
mislead you into thinking that
there are only two presidential
aspirants.
President Goodluck Jonathan and
Former Military Dictator
Muhammadu Buhari. Both
candidates are no doubt the front
runners. President Jonathan is
from the ruling People’s
Democratic Party (PDP), which
has won every presidential
election since Nigeria’s return to
democracy in 1999. General
Buhari is from the All Progressives
Congress (APC), formed two
years ago from the merger of
several opposition parties to
provide a credible counterweight
to the PDP.
But there are 12 other candidates
representing 12 of Nigeria’s 27
political parties. None of these
other parties hold governorships
in any of Nigeria’s 36 states. None
of them have any representation
in Nigeria’s Senate—the upper
chamber of the National
Assembly. Only one party, the
Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN),
has representation with just one
seat in the Federal House of
Assembly—the lower chamber.
This is also the second lowest
number of presidential
contestants since Nigeria’s return
to democratic rule 16 years ago.
The 1999 election had only two
contestants with former president
Olusegun Obasanjo of the PDP
running against the Chief Olu
Falae of the Alliance for
Democracy (AD). The 2007
election saw the highest number
of contenders with 25 candidates
appearing on the ballot. It was
also the most controversial since
the return to civil rule with local
and international bodies alleging
grave malpractice.
2) Only one woman running for
president
Of the 32,718,943 Nigerian
women, who are eligible to run for
office, only one is a contestant for
the Presidency of a country in
which they make up 49 percent of
the population. One would think
that a novelty candidacy should
garner the lone female candidate
Professor Comfort Oluremi
Sonaiya some attention, but she is
virtually unknown.
She doesn’t even have a
Wikipedia page and only 867
people follow her on twitter. Only
a few human interest blogs have
bothered to discuss her
candidacy. Nigerian women fair
better in the Vice Presidential
position where they occupy the
number two slot for five parties.
These parties in which women are
involved have very little realistic
chance of winning the presidential
election. The 2003 elections had
the highest number of female
presidential contestants – two –
which double the current number.
Perhaps the only positive here is
that every poll since 1999 has had
a woman on the ballot.
3) The age average of
contenders is 52, but both front
runners are older:
An average age of 52 for
contestants is not bad in a country
where the majority of the
population is below the age of 40.
But the current President and the
man who wants to replace him
are older than that. Incumbent
President Goodluck Jonathan is
57 and his chief contender Buhari
is 72. The two front runners,
along with Professor Oluremi
Sonaiya who is 59 and of another,
Rafiu Salau 58, are the four oldest
aspirants. If they are removed
from the list, the average age falls
to 48, which would have been
perfect for a country where one
third of the population is made up
of young people between the
ages of 10 to 24.
Muhammadu Buhari, the oldest
candidate this year, is the third
oldest presidential candidate in
Nigeria’s history, after founding
fathers Nnamdi Azikiwe and
Obafemi Awolowo, who were 79
and 74 respectively the when they
contested for the presidency in
1983. If Buhari wins, he will also
become Nigeria’s oldest president
ever. When first elected to the
presidency, Goodluck Jonathan
was Nigeria’s youngest ever
democratically elected President,
assuming office at 53. He is the
second youngest democratically
elected head of government after
Tafawa Balewa who was 48
years old when he became the
first and only prime minister of a
newly independent Nigeria.
Nigeria’s current oldest president
at his election was Olusegun
Obasanjo who was 62 when he
assumed office in 1999 and 70
when he left in 2007.
4) All but one of Nigeria’s six
geopolitical zones has a
presidential candidate:
The North-East, the geopolitical
zone all of the presidential
candidates have promised to save
from the Boko Haram insurgency,
is the only region without a
presidential candidate. Tafawa
Balewa, Nigeria’s first elected
head of government, was the last
elected head of the country to
come from the region. All other
regions have more than one
candidate, except the Northwest
which has one— Muhammadu
Buhari. Shehu Shagari and Musa
Yar’Adua the other two
democratically elected northern
presidents have come from this
region. Nigeria’s Southeast has
the highest number of candidates,
five, but none of them have any
real chance of winning. No
Southeastern candidate has ever
won a Nigerian presidential
election, in fact none has ever
been runner up. The Southwest
has the second highest number
with four candidates. It also
provides the sole female
candidate. Current President
Goodluck Jonathan and one other
contender, Chief Ambrose Albert
Owuru, are from Nigeria’s oil rich
South-South region. The North
Central region currently has two
candidates — Rafiu Sanau and Dr
Mani Ibrahim Ahmad.
5) There are one professor
and five PhD holders running
for president:
If the polls were to be determined
by academic qualifications, then
the sole female candidate wins
outrightly as the only professor in
the pack. However, the other
aspirants are no dunces. Five of
the contestants, including the
current president, have PhD
degrees. Another five have a
Bachelor’s degree as their highest
educational qualification.
There is one Master’s degree
holder. There is also one
candidate with a Higher National
Diploma (the degree attained from
polytechnics). Most interesting
however is the fact that two
candidates have presented Senior
School Leaving Certificates, the
lowest acceptable academic
qualification for a presidential
candidate. Buhari, the main
opposition challenger registered
with this qualification, although his
presentation of a court affidavit
rather than his actual school
certificate has raised questions
about the veracity of his academic
claims.

SOURCE Get More Scintilating Breaking News,Entertainment Updates,Free Browsing/Call Tweaks etc here - http:///7bx

hmmmm interesting facts, nice one @op

Sabadon:
hmmmm interesting facts, nice one @op

thanks bro

Trending:
Nigeria’s hugely anticipated
presidential election is just 24
days away, and if you’re like most
people, you’re probably sick of
story after story about who should
rule Nigeria. But with all the
attention on President Goodluck
Jonathan and his primary
challenger Muhammadu Buhari,
most people have forgotten a few
key facts about Nigeria’s Election
2015.
2015 elections Here are a few
things you should know about the
people running for president:
1) It’s not a Jonathan vs Buhari
contest; There are more than
two candidates:
Actually there are 14 people
currently seeking Nigeria’s top
job. Local and international
coverage of the upcoming
presidential elections can easily
mislead you into thinking that
there are only two presidential
aspirants.
President Goodluck Jonathan and
Former Military Dictator
Muhammadu Buhari. Both
candidates are no doubt the front
runners. President Jonathan is
from the ruling People’s
Democratic Party (PDP), which
has won every presidential
election since Nigeria’s return to
democracy in 1999. General
Buhari is from the All Progressives
Congress (APC), formed two
years ago from the merger of
several opposition parties to
provide a credible counterweight
to the PDP.
But there are 12 other candidates
representing 12 of Nigeria’s 27
political parties. None of these
other parties hold governorships
in any of Nigeria’s 36 states. None
of them have any representation
in Nigeria’s Senate—the upper
chamber of the National
Assembly. Only one party, the
Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN),
has representation with just one
seat in the Federal House of
Assembly—the lower chamber.
This is also the second lowest
number of presidential
contestants since Nigeria’s return
to democratic rule 16 years ago.
The 1999 election had only two
contestants with former president
Olusegun Obasanjo of the PDP
running against the Chief Olu
Falae of the Alliance for
Democracy (AD). The 2007
election saw the highest number
of contenders with 25 candidates
appearing on the ballot. It was
also the most controversial since
the return to civil rule with local
and international bodies alleging
grave malpractice.
2) Only one woman running for
president
Of the 32,718,943 Nigerian
women, who are eligible to run for
office, only one is a contestant for
the Presidency of a country in
which they make up 49 percent of
the population. One would think
that a novelty candidacy should
garner the lone female candidate
Professor Comfort Oluremi
Sonaiya some attention, but she is
virtually unknown.
She doesn’t even have a
Wikipedia page and only 867
people follow her on twitter. Only
a few human interest blogs have
bothered to discuss her
candidacy. Nigerian women fair
better in the Vice Presidential
position where they occupy the
number two slot for five parties.
These parties in which women are
involved have very little realistic
chance of winning the presidential
election. The 2003 elections had
the highest number of female
presidential contestants – two –
which double the current number.
Perhaps the only positive here is
that every poll since 1999 has had
a woman on the ballot.
3) The age average of
contenders is 52, but both front
runners are older:
An average age of 52 for
contestants is not bad in a country
where the majority of the
population is below the age of 40.
But the current President and the
man who wants to replace him
are older than that. Incumbent
President Goodluck Jonathan is
57 and his chief contender Buhari
is 72. The two front runners,
along with Professor Oluremi
Sonaiya who is 59 and of another,
Rafiu Salau 58, are the four oldest
aspirants. If they are removed
from the list, the average age falls
to 48, which would have been
perfect for a country where one
third of the population is made up
of young people between the
ages of 10 to 24.
Muhammadu Buhari, the oldest
candidate this year, is the third
oldest presidential candidate in
Nigeria’s history, after founding
fathers Nnamdi Azikiwe and
Obafemi Awolowo, who were 79
and 74 respectively the when they
contested for the presidency in
1983. If Buhari wins, he will also
become Nigeria’s oldest president
ever. When first elected to the
presidency, Goodluck Jonathan
was Nigeria’s youngest ever
democratically elected President,
assuming office at 53. He is the
second youngest democratically
elected head of government after
Tafawa Balewa who was 48
years old when he became the
first and only prime minister of a
newly independent Nigeria.
Nigeria’s current oldest president
at his election was Olusegun
Obasanjo who was 62 when he
assumed office in 1999 and 70
when he left in 2007.
4) All but one of Nigeria’s six
geopolitical zones has a
presidential candidate:
The North-East, the geopolitical
zone all of the presidential
candidates have promised to save
from the Boko Haram insurgency,
is the only region without a
presidential candidate. Tafawa
Balewa, Nigeria’s first elected
head of government, was the last
elected head of the country to
come from the region. All other
regions have more than one
candidate, except the Northwest
which has one— Muhammadu
Buhari. Shehu Shagari and Musa
Yar’Adua the other two
democratically elected northern
presidents have come from this
region. Nigeria’s Southeast has
the highest number of candidates,
five, but none of them have any
real chance of winning. No
Southeastern candidate has ever
won a Nigerian presidential
election, in fact none has ever
been runner up. The Southwest
has the second highest number
with four candidates. It also
provides the sole female
candidate. Current President
Goodluck Jonathan and one other
contender, Chief Ambrose Albert
Owuru, are from Nigeria’s oil rich
South-South region. The North
Central region currently has two
candidates — Rafiu Sanau and Dr
Mani Ibrahim Ahmad.
5) There are one professor
and five PhD holders running
for president:
If the polls were to be determined
by academic qualifications, then
the sole female candidate wins
outrightly as the only professor in
the pack. However, the other
aspirants are no dunces. Five of
the contestants, including the
current president, have PhD
degrees. Another five have a
Bachelor’s degree as their highest
educational qualification.
There is one Master’s degree
holder. There is also one
candidate with a Higher National
Diploma (the degree attained from
polytechnics). Most interesting
however is the fact that two
candidates have presented Senior
School Leaving Certificates, the
lowest acceptable academic
qualification for a presidential
candidate. Buhari, the main
opposition challenger registered
with this qualification, although his
presentation of a court affidavit
rather than his actual school
certificate has raised questions
about the veracity of his academic
claims.

SOURCE Get More Scintilating Breaking News,Entertainment Updates,Free Browsing/Call Tweaks etc here - http:///7bx

NICE ONE @OP. I didn't know some of these facts. Thanks for the enlightenment.

dharyour93:


NICE ONE @OP. I didn't know some of these facts. Thanks for the enlightenment.

thanks..maybe u can reward me by recomending it for fp