Nigeria state polls raise hopes for governance reform

Subject

Gubernatorial polls and the devolution outlook.

Significance

The All Progressives Congress (APC) won 20 out of the 29 states that held elections for governorships and assemblies on April 11. While the majority of the remaining seven states had been won by the People's Democratic Party (PDP) in by-elections last year, the APC has broadly repeated its victory in the presidential polls. Over the next four years, incoming state administrations will be spending nearly half of the national budget to develop services and infrastructure under a new federal government that has promised greater devolution of powers.

Impacts

• The PDP will have to re-grow its party from a much-reduced regional powerbase in the south-south and south-east of the country.
• Problematic elections in PDP states may sow the seeds for continued localised instability and security problems.
• Longer term, more dynamic state governments may spearhead a more localised infrastructure boom not as reliant on central planning.
• Whether the APC can meet the high bar set by Lagos elsewhere will depend on the quality of its candidates locally.