Nigeria elections: Buhari seeks second term

Nigerians are finally going to the polls for the country's general election following a last-minute postponement of the vote a week ago.

The main challenger to President Muhammadu Buhari, 76, is the former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, 72.

Whoever wins will have to address power shortages, corruption, security threats, and a sluggish economy.

About 120,000 polling stations opened at 07:00 GMT across Africa's most populous nation and leading oil producer, with results expected early next week. The polls are due to close at 14:00 (13:00).

More than 84 million Nigerians have registered to take part in the crunch vote, and long queues were reported at several polling stations across the country early on Saturday.

President Buhari cast his ballot in his hometown of Daura in the northern state of Katsina. Asked if he would congratulate his rival if he lost, he said: "I will congratulate myself."

Seventy-three candidates are running for the presidency - the highest number of presidential hopefuls in the country of nearly 200 million people.

Armed group Boko Haram had vowed to disrupt the elections, which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) last Saturday delayed for one week, just hours before they were due to get underway.

About two hours before polls were due to open on Saturday, residents of the town of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state in the country's north-east reported hearing several blasts and gunfire.

State police said in a statement that there was no threat to public safety. "The gunfire were not targeted at members of the public but was for security purposes," the statement said.

The initial vote was rescheduled in a dramatic press conference in the early hours of Saturday 16 February, just five hours before polls were due to have opened.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) has given several reasons for the delay, including attempted sabotage and logistical issues such as bad weather and problems with delivering the ballot papers.

The candidate with the most votes is declared the winner in the first round, as long as that person gains at least 25% of the votes in two-thirds of Nigeria's 36 states.

Electors are also choosing 360 members of the House of Representatives and 109 senators from a choice of 6,500 candidates.