There are no obvious differences between the platforms of Nigeria’s four leading presidential candidates, according to Catriona Laing, the United Kingdom’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, especially in terms of policy.
She also stated that her country’s government does not support any of the 18 presidential candidates and is willing to work with whoever wins the election on February 25.
Ms Laing stated this during a Channels TV interview on Tuesday.
Despite the presence of 18 political parties, the 2023 presidential election is shaping up to be a four-horse race between the candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, former vice president, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).
The manifestos of the four leading candidates have been released.
Mr Tinubu has the “Renewed Hope 23” manifesto, while Mr Atiku has the “My Covenant with Nigeria” manifesto. For Mr Obi, he is counting on his “Our Pact with Nigeria” while Mr Kwanwaso released “My Pledges To You”.
According to Ms Laing, observers are encouraged by the candidates’ pledge to make tough economic decisions because there is a link between the economy and security.
“They have all published their manifestoes. What is quite striking is how similar they are. I did not see huge policy differences among the big four. They have all told us how important it is to take those difficult policy decisions. But are there differences? In terms of policies, I did not see much differences.”
“We have engaged with the big four and I have met with some of the smaller parties as well. We know them well and like Channels TV, we are not backing any candidate. We can work with anybody who wins this election because that will be the choice of the people. Whoever comes in will have a lot of challenges, on security and the economy.
“We urge all the candidates to take early action on the economy—when the economy functions, the security environment will also improve. The security we see is related to joblessness and lack of alternative livelihood,” she said.