2019 Election: U.S. Institute denies predicting victory for Buhari

The United States Institute of Peace has denied predicting
victory for President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 General Election
in Nigeria.

The Institute in a statement on its website on Tuesday
captioned: “Correcting a Media Error: USIP Makes No Prediction on
Nigerian Election”, stressed that the report by many Nigerian media
that the Institute’s 20-page report on risk to a peaceful election
in Nigeria, predicted victory for Buhari was false.

USIP therefore stressed that the reports were erroneous adding
that the Institute was non-partisan and its only interest in
elections was that of preventing violence not on the outcome.

“A few Nigerian newspapers reported erroneously this week that
the U.S. Institute of Peace has made a prediction about the
possible outcome of Nigeria’s 2019 presidential election.

“USIP never makes predictions about election outcomes and has
not done so in this case. The Institute’s work on elections is
confined to helping nations avoid electoral violence.

“The erroneous news accounts misrepresent USIP’s recent 20-page
report on the risks to a peaceful 2019 election in Nigeria.”This
study is based on interviews across the country with more than 200
Nigerian respondents—election administrators, political party
representatives, security officials, civil society and youth
groups, the media, traditional and religious leaders, prominent
community figures, business people, academics and others.

“The USIP report noted that, in the interviews, “some
respondents” discussed their own views of Nigerian public
perceptions about an election outcome.

“A Nigerian news account mis-reported this passage as a USIP
prediction of the outcome, and other Nigerian news organizations
repeated the error.

As USIP is a strictly nonpartisan institution, its work on
elections focuses entirely on preventing violence.

For more information on USIP’s work on peaceful elections and in
Nigeria: .