Nigerian elections in April to determine state governor posts further highlighted the dominance of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the country. It inflicted another defeat on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who suffered a loss in March’s Presidential elections. These results bring about a new era for Nigeria, which ended military rule in 1999.
Before this year’s set of elections, the PDP had dominated the Nigerian political scene for 16 years. However, the APC took the majority of votes in both the Presidential and state governor polls. The leader of the APC, Muhammadu Buhari, was officially inaugurated as president in May.
State governor domination
The northern part of the country was dominated in the election by a string of victories by the APC. Some of the key areas in this region, including Kaduna and Katsina, fell out of PDP rule for the first time in their history. Overall the outgoing ruling party took just eight states, with the majority of these in the South East of Nigeria. They did, however, retain control of Rivers State, which is central to the country’s oil production.
Throughout the results, the APC made some major gains, which have helped to elevate the party to ruling status. The PDP is now more of a regional party, with a significantly lessened role in influencing national policies. This has broken down its powerful hold on the Nigerian political scene.
The APC has a good spread of votes across the northern states, as well as taking control of Lagos, which is the commercial centre of the country. The APC victory in Lagos will mean that for the first time since democracy came to the country in 1999, this important region will be controlled by the presidential party. There may be some concerns amongst those currently in control of the APC regarding their failure to win votes in any of the five oil producing states.
State governors have extremely powerful status in Nigeria and oversee control of correspondingly large budgets. This is particularly true of the oil producing zones, where annual budgets can be higher than some of the countries that neighbour Nigeria.
Change across Africa
This result may not just be significant for Nigeria. It could make a difference across the whole of the continent, as other countries battle against dominant political parties that have been in power for generations.
It is estimated that around 20 percent of people in Africa are Nigerian, so they can have an extremely influential presence across the continent. With the electorate in the country relishing the idea that they have removed the incumbent party simply through voting, this could be an example that others in neighbouring regions want to follow. They have seen that one country can make a difference and that their individual votes can have a significant impact on the political makeup of their own area.
The Nigerian elections of 2015 were carried out peacefully, with well monitored polls and the transfer of power was carried out without anyone contesting the result. This could help to quell concerns that changing leaders will impact negatively on the structure of a country.
The PDP had been in control of Nigeria for 16 years. However, a new wave of voters in the country believed that now was the time for things to change. The election results mark a significant new beginning for this African country. It will enable democracy to continue maturing and for the country to grow economically, while at the same time trying to battle the hold that militant groups have on certain regions.
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