Nigeria’s ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), Wednesday selected Bola Tinubu as its presidential candidate for the upcoming 2023 elections, reported Reuters.
Tinubu, 70, a former two-time governor of Lagos, won with 1,271 votes in the primaries held on Tuesday and Wednesday. He was way ahead of former Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi who got 316 votes and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo who garnered 235 votes. Senate President Ahmad Lawan scored 152 votes.
Tinubu was one of the first candidates to declare his intention to succeed Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari whose second and final term ends in May next year. He will face Atiku Abubakar, 75, a former vice-president and longtime presidential hopeful who is the presidential election candidate of the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
The 75-year-old Abubakar has made numerous attempts to capture Nigeria’s presidency. He has stood in six primaries, and next year’s vote will be his third presidential bid. He was vice president to Olusegun Obasanjo, the first Nigerian leader after the end of decades of military rule, from 1999 to 2007,
Abubakar lost to incumbent President Buhari in 2019 during the last election, which he claimed was rigged. He also challenged the results in court.
Last week, Tinubu had said it was his turn to occupy Nigeria’s presidential palace, in return for getting Buhari elected in 2015.
“If it were not for me standing before you leading the army, saying Buhari, go ahead, we’re behind you, he could never have become the President,” the APC leader said while addressing APC delegates in Ogun state.
“I have done my best to protect the children,” he said. “I too want to become the President. I don’t want to be erased from history.”
The election winner will replace Buhari, head of the All Progressives Congress party and a former general who has led the country since 2015. The presidential election is set to take place next February.
