PDP seeks comeback in Nigeria's governorship elections

The party that has ruled Nigeria for the past 16 years was locked in a fierce battle for political survival as it sought a comeback in weekend governorship elections after its bruising defeat at presidential and senate polls two weeks ago.

Having lost control of the federal centre, the People's Democratic party's best hope of forestalling an implosion - amid a cascade of recent defections - lies in retaining a majority of Nigeria's 36 states. Their governors are among the country's most powerful politicians, managing in some cases budgets that are bigger than small African states, and holding influence over federal appointments and the choice of who runs for president. Voting took place in Saturday and the results are expected to trickle through on Sunday.

The fight was at its roughest in Rivers state - the richest in Nigeria's oil-producing south - which fell into opposition hands when the outgoing governor Rotimi Amaechi, defected two years ago. By Sunday morning the PDP was claiming a landslide in Rivers. But, with at least three people dead, the tactics deployed jeopardised the credibility of the results.

In an early blow to the PDP, unofficial tallies on Sunday morning showed a parallel attempt by the party to force out the opposition All Progressive's Congress from Lagos - the commercial and business capital of Africa's biggest economy - had narrowly failed.

This means that when former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, the president-elect, assumes office on May 29, Lagos - the opposition's traditional stronghold - will be politically aligned with the federal centre for the first time since the military handed power back to civilians in 1999.

"Lagos has to be the economic engine and as the engine it has to do more," a senior APC member told the Financial Times. "This is the first time it will be aligned with the centre. It will give us relative business advantage now in terms of federal support getting stuff done," he said.

The PDP was trounced at the presidential polls two weeks ago - marking the first time in Nigeria's history that an opposition candidate has unseated an incumbent president, Goodluck Jonathan. To ensure the PDP has a significant base from which to mount a future challenge, it was important for the party to gain some of the wealthier states, including Lagos and Rivers, and to maintain its traditional grip across the oil producing Niger delta.

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The Niger delta is still smarting from the toppling of President Jonathan, whose ascent to the top in 2010 marked the first time someone from a minority group in the southern oil-producing region had served as president.

There were scattered incidents of violence across Rivers state, notably in the town of Buguma where an APC activist was beheaded, witnesses told the FT, and at least two other people were killed in gun battles. Election distribution centres were also set alight, and armed thugs turned back vehicles on their way into the town. In the local government area of Omuanwa, northwest of the state capital, Port Harcourt, PDP thugs had shot one man dead, and wounded another as they roamed a village straddling the main highway, witnesses said. There were no election materials in the area, amid suspicions that hired thugs were removing ballot papers and results sheets in several areas in order to rig results.

"They carry guns and have been chasing us up and down," said Emmanuel Vale, an ageing APC supporter minutes after the shooting incident. There had been no presidential vote in the area two weeks ago he said, although results eventually showed a PDP landslide.

"I was thinking they would allow us to vote this time," the outgoing governor Rotimi Amaechi, told the FT as he prepared to vote at a nearby polling station. "But I don't see an election where people are being shot and chased away. It is dangerous for anyone to come out and vote for the APC," he said.

Earlier Mr Amaechi swooped at another polling unit where he had received reports that an electoral commissioner had been beaten up, and voting materials removed. There was a near riot as crowds of PDP supporters, angry at his intervention, jostled with his security detail, calling for him to leave.

Gladys Nguma, a widow and former hospital worker, complained that she had not received her pension since January. She blamed the outgoing governor, who was Gen Buhari's campaign chief, for focusing his attention on national politics at the expense of the state, which has been hit by the falling world price of oil. "Whoever rules, they should be paying us our salary," she said.

Full results for the 36 states were expected to trickle in through Sunday.

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