Election officials in Nigeria staged mock biometric accreditation for voters ahead of this month’s presidential and parliamentary elections. The country goes to the polls on 25 February to elect a successor to President Muhammadu Buhari. To ensure fairness and transparency of the electoral process, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) introduced a voter accreditation system at 2015 and 2019 polls. After a number of technical problems, INEC decided to test the system out in Lagos.
Officials were keen for the election to run smoothly, and the introduction of this voter accreditation system was seen as a way to ensure that the process ran smoothly. Some voters were excited about the exercise and had their biometrics taken by INEC officials to help improve preparations for the general elections. The frontrunners for the presidential election are former Lagos governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress, ex-vice president Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition Peoples
