In the first elections to be held under a civilian government in twenty years, in April 2003 President Olusegun Obasanjo and the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) comfortably won presidential and National Assembly elections and did well in the governorship elections. Obasanjo was emphatically returned as President with 61.9 per cent of the votes, his main rival, another former military leader, Muhammadu Buhari of the All Nigeria People’s Party, polling 32.2 per cent. Commonwealth observers concluded that in most states most electors were able to vote freely and the results of the elections reflected the wishes of the people. However, in certain places ‘proper electoral processes appear to have broken down’ and, in Rivers State in particular, ‘there were widespread and serious irregularities and vote-rigging’. The ruling PDP’s candidate, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, won the April 2007 presidential election with 70 per cent of the votes, defeating Muhammadu Buhari of the All Nigeria People’s Party (18 per cent) and Atiku Abubakar of Action Congress (seven per cent). Turnout was low and the many national and international observers reported serious and widespread deficiencies in the election process, including late opening of polls. Commonwealth observers concluded there were impediments to the full, free and fair expression of the will of voters and that an opportunity to build on the elections of 1999 and 2003 had been missed. After a period of illness, three months of which he spent receiving medical treatment in Saudi Arabia, Yar’Adua died on 5 May 2010. Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan, who had been empowered by the National Assembly to act as President since February 2010, was sworn in as President on 6 May. In April 2011 PDP candidate Jonathan won the presidential election in the first round, taking 59 per cent of the votes cast and securing more than 25 per cent of votes in at least 24 states. His main challenger, Buhari (now of the Congress for Progressive Change), took 32 per cent of the votes cast. Voting was widely reported as peaceful and the Commonwealth observer group present, led by former President of Botswana Festus Mogae, declared that the presidential and National Assembly elections were both credible and creditable, and reflected the will of the Nigerian people. However, as it became apparent that Jonathan had won the presidential contest, violent demonstrations erupted in northern Nigeria. Local government Association: Association of Local Governments of Nigeria There are three spheres of government in Nigeria: federal, state and local. State and local government are enshrined in the constitution and provided for by legislation in each state, and the relevant ministry in each state is responsible for local government, which comprises 768 local government authorities and six area councils, all 774 of Ni g e r i a which are single-tier. Scheduling of local government elections varies from state to state. The federal and state governments are responsible for setting and collecting taxes, the local authorities for collecting licence fees. All collected revenue is held in a federal account before being distributed among the three spheres of government. The local authorities are responsible for delivery of services such as public health; pre-school, primary and adult education; town planning; waste disposal; local transport; and roads. National development plan Nigeria has had a relatively long experience in development planning beginning with the Colonial Development Plan (1958–68). Medium-term development plans and national rolling plans were also developed and implemented with mixed results. Other major strategic initiatives – such as the Structural Adjustment Programme; the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy; the Strategy for Attaining the Millennium Development Goals; and the 7- Point Agenda – were not seen to have been effectively implemented. The Nigeria Vision 20:2020 expresses the aspiration for Nigeria to become one of the top 20 economies in the world by 2020. Attainment of the Vision would enable the country to achieve a high standard of living for its citizens. It was developed by Nigerians for the Nigerian people and involved a process of thorough engagement with all stakeholders across all levels of government and society. The Vision will be pursued through a series of three/fouryear plans which will further articulate strategies, policies, projects and programmes. Policy The two broad objectives of Vision 20:2020 are to: • Make efficient use of human and natural resources to achieve rapid economic growth • Translate the economic growth into equitable social development for all citizens The six main policy thrusts are: • Bridging the infrastructure gap to unleash economic growth and wealth creation • Optimising the sources of economic growth to increase productivity and competitiveness • Building a productive, competitive and functional human resource base, for economic growth and social advancement • Developing a knowledge-based economy • Improving governance, security, law and order and engendering more efficient and effective use of resources Commonwealth Governance Handbook 2013/14 231
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