Nigeria fully started the final collation of the weekend's presidential election on Monday afternoon with the electoral chief, Mahmood Yakubu, leading the process amid very tight security.
Yakubu officially declared the collation process open at the national collation center in the Nigerian capital Abuja late Sunday but the collation of results began on Monday due to the absence of State Collation Officers for Presidential Election and Resident Electoral Commissioners.
Several security roadblocks were mounted by state security agents who also monitored the accreditation of officials and journalists within and outside the collation center.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, Nigeria's electoral body, says it hopes to announce the winner of the presidential election on Wednesday at the latest.
The Feb. 23 election marked the sixth consecutive election since the return to civilian rule in 1999, and it recorded a high level of participation, with more than 84 million registered voters and 73 presidential candidates.
The overall political climate in Nigeria's election remained largely peaceful and conducive for the conduct of democratic elections, the African Union election observation team said on Monday.
Local analysts have said this election seems tight between incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress party and former vice president Atiku Abubakar who is the candidate of the main opposition, the People's Democratic Party.
Many hope the winner of the election can address issues bordering on job creation, economy, and security threats posed by the extremist group Boko Haram, kidnappers and farmer-herder clashes.
