Nigeria’s President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has implored candidates, political parties, and supporters to respect the democratic process and the people’s choice during the Edo governorship election.

The election will hold on Saturday, September 21.

Tinubu’s appeal was contained in a statement issued by Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the president on information and strategy.

“President Tinubu emphasises that democracy thrives on civility, tolerance, patience, and respect for the rules of the game,” the statement reads.

“He notes that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has committed to conducting a free and fair election and urges all stakeholders to work together to ensure a successful and peaceful process.

“The President commends the governorship candidates and political parties for their campaigns, which have focused on issues that matter most to the people of Edo State, including improving livelihoods, promoting economic growth, and contributing to national development.”

Tinubu also urged voters to remain peaceful throughout the process and encouraged them to resolve any disagreements amicably through constituted authorities.

Nigeria’s local currency, the naira, is among the 10 worst-performing currencies in the world.

According to a report by Bloomberg, out of the 10 worst-performing currencies, five are from Africa, including the Zambian kwacha, the Angolan kwanza, and the naira.

The drop in the performance of the African currencies was linked to economic challenges, unstable commodity prices, inflationary pressures, and a lack of dollar liquidity.

Also, Bloomberg said the poor performance is due to many African economies depending on oil exports, so they are vulnerable to declines in price.

Commenting on the data, Keonethebe Bosigo, portfolio manager at Mazi Asset Management, said oil prices are not the only issue, even though it is a major factor.

Bosigo said poor currency management and imbalances are “the real culprits”.

Speaking on the performance of the naira, the portfolio manager said oil prices are a factor, “but the real issue is that the naira wasn’t allowed to adjust, which led to its overvaluation and a subsequent loss of confidence in the currency”.

On his part, Irmgard Erasmus, an economist at Oxford Economics, said the naira continues to “face significant pressure despite reforms aimed at liberalising the current account”.

“The naira remains undervalued relative to its long-term neutral value due to ongoing issues around liquidity and dollar supply,” Erasmus said.

“Although Nigeria has made inroads toward current account liberalisation since the Tinubu victory in 2023, hard-currency supply challenges persist while tightening regulations on the banking sector and BDC operators contribute to risk aversion.”

“The government’s slow pace of reforms, combined with haphazard monetary policies, continues to keep the currency in undervalued territory,” he added.

Erasmus also said the naira should be trading closer to N1,100 per dollar in the absence of distortions, compared to Thursday’s close of N1,544/$.

He, however, said without significant policy changes and improved dollar liquidity, the outlook for the naira remains fragile.

On June 14, 2023, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) officially unified the multiple FX rate systems, collapsing all FX windows into the investors’ and exporters’ (I&E) window.

The policy resulted in the depreciation of the local currency and caused significant levels of volatility in the FX market.

At the close of trading on Friday, data from FMDQ Securities, a platform that oversees official foreign exchange trading in Nigeria, showed that the naira traded at N1,541 per dollar.

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) made a significant move to ensure a peaceful governorship election in Edo State by arresting two suspected political thugs and recovering firearms during overnight raids.

This preemptive strike came just hours before the election, aiming to curb potential electoral violence.

According to Muyiwa Adejobi, the force spokesperson, the arrests and seizures were made possible by a valuable tip-off.

“The Nigeria Police Force has made a significant breakthrough in its efforts to curb electoral violence in Edo State with the arrest of two political thugs, namely: Edwin Obanor, 43-year-old and Audu Tajudeen, a 41-year-old PDP member from Ugbogbo quarters, Igara Akoko, Edo,” the statement reads.

“Upon searching the bags in their possession, three cut-to-size locally fabricated pistols were discovered on Obanor, while one locally made gun was recovered from Tajudeen.

“These arrests are a testament to the Nigeria Police Force’s commitment to maintaining law and order and ensuring a peaceful electoral process.

“The police and other supporting security agencies will not tolerate any form of violence or disorderliness during the election in Edo State.

“The suspects are currently in custody and will face the full weight of the law.

“The police reassure the public of its dedication to protecting lives and property and, therefore, urges citizens to report any suspicious activities to the nearest police station or via our published helplines.”

17 political parties are battling for the votes of 2.2 million electorates in the election.