The Nigerian Election Debate Group (NEDG) and the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) organised a debate among five Presidential candidates at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja on Saturday, 19th January 2019, with support from the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room. This was the second phase of the debate series organised by NEDG, the first being the Vice Presidential debate, which took place in December, 2018. Obiageli Ezekwesili of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), Fela Durotoye of the Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN), President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Kingsley Moghalu of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), were all billed to feature on the platform. However, not all the candidates were in attendance. Atiku Abubakar, a former Vice President of Nigeria, arrived the venue of the debate but he left soon afterwards, due to what he later said was, the absence of President Buhari.
The remaining three candidates who participated in the debate had the opportunity to present their intended policies and plans for various sectors of the economy, giving Nigerians solutions to the problems facing the country from their respective views. The conversation made for a rich discuss. The debate is part of Situation Room’s election support programme, which is funded by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID).