Lagos - Nigerians return to the polls on Saturday for gubernatorial and state assembly elections, two weeks after the country's historic first opposition victory in the presidential race.
Polling stations open from 8:00 am (0700 GMT) for the regional vote, which will be watched closely to see whether the opposition translates its national success into gains at the local level.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of President Goodluck Jonathan currently controls 21 of Nigeria's 36 states. President-elect Muhammadu Buhari's All Progressives Congress (APC) has 14.
Only 29 states will have governorship elections because of mid-term polls held since 2011, while voting for the state assembly is in all 36.
Stakes are high, with state governors in Africa's most populous nation in a powerful position controlling the purse strings in areas such as local health, education and infrastructure projects.
"The presidency is very distant from most Nigerians, so the governors are essentially the middle men between the presidency and the people on the ground," said political commentator Chris Ngwodo.
"The governors actually have more direct impact on the people than the presidency," he told AFP.
AFP
