AU Sending 90-Man Election Observer Team to Nigeria

The African Union Commission revealed on Tuesday that it would deploy a 90-person observation delegation to Nigeria for this month’s elections.

The most populous nation in Africa will vote on February 25 but is now in a crisis due to a severe lack of petrol and cash.

READ ALSO: Marburg Virus Outbreak Confirmed in Equatorial Guinea

Former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta, who helped broker an agreement to end a two-year war in northern Ethiopia and is mediating the situation in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, is leading the African Union Election Observation Mission (AUEOM).

The AU stated that the mission’s goals were to deliver a “exact and unbiased assessment” of the electoral process, make suggestions for any improvements in subsequent elections, and show AU support “towards consolidation of democracy, peace, stability, and prosperity in Nigeria.”

President Muhammadu Buhari will stand down after serving two terms as Nigeria suffers with pervasive insecurity and an economic downturn, yet almost 100 million people will cast ballots to choose his replacement.