The main opposition party in Nigeria has picked former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as its candidate for the 2023 presidential elections.
Vote counting started late on Saturday and Abubakar garnered 371 votes, defeating his nearest rival Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, governor of oil-producing Rivers state, who received 237 votes.
Abubakar, a Muslim and stalwart of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), has made numerous bids to capture the presidency of Africa’s most populous country.
The 75-year-old lost to incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 during the last election, which he claimed was rigged.
But Buhari will not be on the ballot next year when the second of his two four-year terms comes to an end.
The PDP, which ruled Nigeria after military rule ended in 1999, was removed from power by Buhari’s All Progressives Congress (APC) party in 2015.
In his acceptance speech, Abubakar reiterated his campaign promise to end insecurity in the country and revive its fragile economy, among other pledges, and promised to work with his opponents.
“I therefore pledge that I will restore unity. I also committed that I was going to deal decisively with the security situation in this country,” said Abubakar.
Abubakar has stood in six primaries, and next year’s vote will be his third presidential bid.
From 1999 to 2007, he was vice president to Olusegun Obasanjo, the first Nigerian leader after the end of decades of military rule.
Abubakar’s main opponent will be from the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC party, which will choose its candidate at a special convention to be held June 6-8.
The APC postponed its presidential primary from Sunday after the electoral commission extended the deadline for political parties to choose their candidates.
Twenty-five candidates from the APC have registered to take part in the primaries. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, a Pastor, and former Lagos state governor and party heavyweight Bola Ahmed Tinubu, also a Muslim, are seen as the ruling party’s frontrunners.
Buhari’s successor faces several challenges — including insecurity marked by kidnappings for ransom in the northwest, an Islamist armed uprising in the northeast, secessionist violence in the southeast, and a struggling economy and high inflation.
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