Just in: US peace institute denies predicting victory for Buhari in 2019

The United States Institute of Peace has denied reports that it predicted a victory for All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 presidential election.

The top U.S organisation disclosed this in a statement on their website on Tuesday, November 6, while reacting to news circulating that it predicted a win for the incumbent president.

USIP said it is not in their line to make predictions about election outcomes and has not done so in the case of Nigeria.

“The erroneous news accounts misrepresent USIP’s recent 20-page report on the risks to a peaceful 2019 election in Nigeria,” USIP said in the statement.

Correcting a Media Error: USIP Makes No Prediction on Nigerian Election

“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,” the statement read.

Recall that Legit.ng, quoting a news outlet, had reported that the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) claimed it was less likely for President Muhammadu Buhari to be defeated in the 2019 presidential election.

The organization was said to have arrived at its conclusion based on interactions with Nigerians from different sectors.

However, TRACK NEWS also noted in our initial report that the USIP’s report ran contrary to two previous ones by The Economist, which predicted that Buhari will be ousted from power in 2019.