U.S Intelligence Firm Predicts Buhari’s Loss In 2019 Election

More damning reports from the international community have continued to trail President Muhammadu Buhari’s bid to return for a second term as Nigeria’s President in 2019.

Following last Saturday’s governorship poll in Osun State which saw the opposition Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) having a slight edge over the ruling All Progressive Congress(APC), a United States firm, Teneo Intelligence, has predicted a possible loss of the Presidential election by the APC next year.

In an analysis on Monday, the New York based firm said President Muhammadu Buhari could lose power in February’s election if the opposition unites against the ruling party.

Teneo, in a note to clients, said the outcome of the Osun State governorship election, where the opposition Peoples Democratic Party came out top ahead of President Buhari’s All Progressives Congress, signals the president’s fading popularity.

Senator Ademola Adeleke of the PDP polled 254,698 votes against his closest rival and candidate of ruling APC, Isiaka Oyetola, who got 254,345 votes.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had declared the election inconclusive. The electoral body said the difference of 353 between the leading aspirants was less than the total of 3, 498 that was cancelled in about seven polling units in the election.

The southwest was key to Buhari’s victory in 2015.

“There is already a clear message sent from Osun State: provided the PDP remains united, and the vote is reasonably free and fair, Buhari and his APC are likely to lose the general elections,” said Malte Liewerscheidt, an analyst at Teneo.

Teneo is a global advisory firm that works exclusively with the CEOs and leaders of the world’s largest and leading companies, providing strategic counsel across their full range of key objectives and issues

According to reports, an increasing number of Nigerians are getting frustrated with the President, with some accusing him of not doing enough to revive an economy still struggling after the 2014 crash in crude prices and to stop the spread of deadly communal clashes, which has claimed hundreds of lives in 2018 alone.

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria on Tuesday warned that weak economic fundamentals currently being shown by the Nigerian economy are putting the country’s exit from recession under threat.

Nigeria’s economy exited recession in 2017 after suffering contraction for five consecutive quarters.

The PDP is to choose a presidential candidate during its national convention on Oct. 5 and 6. Several prominent politicians, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Senate President Bukola Saraki, are leading contenders to fly the party’s flag in the presidential election next year.

The APC, on Monday, fixed its presidential primaries on Friday September 28, 2018. The latest shift is the fourth time the party will be doing so.

Mr. Buhari is currently its only presidential candidate.