US Institute Denies Predicting 2019 Presidential Poll Outcome

United States Institute of Peace, USIP, has refuted all allegations about making predictions about the outcome of the 2019 Presidential election. On Wednesday, the organization said its reports on the inherent risks to a peaceful election was grossly misinterpreted by media outlets. According to its the statement, the USIP’s mission is geared towards preventing electoral violence.

The statement said, “ A few Nigerian newspapers reported erroneously this week that the US 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 the institute’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 institution’s report noted that, in the interviews, ‘some respondents ’ discussed their own views of Nigerian public perceptions about an election outcome.

“A Nigerian news account misreported this passage as a USIP prediction of the outcome, and other Nigerian news organizations repeated the error. As USIP is a strictly non- partisan institution, its work on elections focuses entirely on preventing violence.”