Abuja, June 7 (AFP/APP): Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party gathered to vote on Tuesday in key primaries to choose a candidate for next year’s election to replace President Muhammadu Buhari.
No clear favourite has emerged among the APC frontrunners vying to lead Africa’s most populous country, including former Lagos governor Bola Tinubu, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, former transport minister Rotimi Amaechi and Senate president Ahmad Lawan.
The APC convention in Abuja took place two days after gunmen killed 22 people in an attack on a church in the southwest — a reminder that security in the elections will be a major issue.
More than 2,300 APC delegates will select a candidate to face Atiku Abubakar, 75, of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) among others in the February 25 presidential ballot.
Buhari, who is stepping down after the two terms he is allowed in the constitution, arrived at the Eagle Square convention centre early in the evening before voting was to start.
The Nigerian leader has spent the days leading up to the convention in negotiations with the APC’s factions seeking unity over a party candidate.
“The fate of the party depends on what we do here,” APC party chairman Abdullahi Adamu said, echoing Buhari’s call for unity in the ranks.
“We cannot go into the general election next year without putting our house together.”
Part of the APC’s debate over candidates relates to “zoning” — an unofficial agreement among political elites that Nigeria’s presidency should rotate between those from the predominantly Christian south and those from the largely Muslim north.
After northern Muslim Buhari, observers expected the presidency to go to a candidate from the south.
But the PDP — which held its primary on May 28 and 29 – chose Abubakar, a former vice president and political stalwart who is a northern Muslim.
The opposition’s choice to ignore “zoning” has made the APC reconsider how their candidate will appeal to the north, where voter numbers and participation are traditionally higher.
Buhari, who is the leader of the ruling party, has not declared support for any candidate and instructed APC members to “allow the delegates to decide.”
“Our objective must be the victory of our party and our choice of candidate must be someone who would give the Nigerian masses a sense of victory and confidence even before the elections,” he said last week.
Heavy security was deployed in central Abuja early Tuesday and streets were gridlocked as hundreds of APC supporters wearing the party colours of green, white and red gathered in and around the venue.
The results of the primary are officially scheduled to be unveiled by 2100 GMT, when the victor is due to make an acceptance speech — though a delay is expected.
Nigeria’s economy is also recovering from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the fallout from the Ukraine war, with the World Bank projecting the number of poor Nigerians will hit 95.1 million this year.
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