On Friday, 14th December, 2018, the Nigeria Elections Debate Group (NEDG) and the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), with support from the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room set the stage for a debate among five Vice Presidential Candidates, at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja. This is the first in a debate series for the 2019 General elections. The platform featured the following Vice Presidential Candidates: Ganiyu Galadima of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria; Mrs. Khadija Abdullahi-Iya of the Alliance for New Nigeria; Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osibanjo of the All Progressives Congress; Mr. Peter Obi of the People’s Democratic Party and Umma Gesto of the Young Progressives Party.
The Candidates were given the opportunity to state their plans for the country, as questions were posed to them on a number of topics, which spanned from the scope of the Office of the Vice President, economic development, foreign policy, to Nigeria’s business environment and a number of other topics. The platform gave rise to a robust conversation, giving Nigerians a pointer to the perspectives of each of these political parties and Candidates regarding the state of the Nation and plans for improvement, moving forward. The debate is part of Situation Room’s election support programme, which is funded by the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID).