EU not to monitor polls in volatile northeast Nigeria: official

The European Union (EU) Election Observation Mission (EOM) on Monday ruled out the possibility of monitoring the forthcoming general election in the northeast of Nigeria due to insecurity in the region.

Santiago Ayxela, chief election observer for EU, made the remarks in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, during a courtesy visit to the opposition party presidential candidate Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

The mission will deploy 90 observers to monitor the election across the country except the northeast region, Ayxela said, adding that the first batch of 30 observers had arrived in the country while the second batch would be in Nigeria by Feb. 7 and the final batch, before the elections.

The election was important to Nigeria and the EU, said Ayxela, stressing that whatever happens to Nigeria would affect the whole of Africa and the EU.

According to the observer, the mission would monitor the process and conduct of stakeholders to ensure compliance with relevant laws not only on the day of the election but before and after the polls.

Three states in the volatile northeast Nigeria have been repeatedly attacked by the extremists who started deadly insurgency in 2009 in a bid to impose Sharia in the mainly-Muslim north.

The Nigerian electoral commission has set Feb. 14 for the presidential and federal lawmakers' elections, and Feb. 28 for the election of the governorship and state legislators. Enditem