ISLAMABAD/LAGOS: Nigerians will vote to elect their next president on Saturday in what is expected to be the most credible and close electoral contest since the end of the military rule in the country nearly a quarter of a century ago. It would also be the first presidential poll in Nigeria with a candidate who is not from one of the two main parties stands a chance.
The February 25 election will be closely watched after coups in Mali and Burkina Faso knocked West Africa’s democracy and militancy spread north of Nigeria’s Gulf of Guinea neighbours.
The new leader of Africa’s largest economy and top oil producer will inherit a bewildering set of security and financial problems. After eight years under Muhammadu Buhari, the most populous democracy in Africa still faces huge challenges, from attacks by militants and separatists, impeding economic progress and growing poverty, leaving many Nigerians desperate for change.
The candidates in Nigerian election
The ruling All Progressives Congress or the APC has put forward Bola Tinubu, 70, a long-time kingmaker campaigning over his success as Lagos governor and claims, “It is my turn”.
Touting his financial acumen to “rescue” Nigeria, opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate former vice president Atiku Abubakar, 76, is contesting for the sixth time to claim Aso Rock’s presidential villa.
But a surprise third candidate, Peter Obi, 61, from the Labour Party, has countered APC and PDP’s dominance with an appeal to younger voters, making the upcoming polls the most unpredictable election in years and the possibility of a run-off for the first time since the end of military rule in 1999.
A sudden cash shortage just days before the vote has left many Nigerians angry with Buhari’s government as they struggle to shop at markets and travel to work.
—AFP/APP
