As the race for the 2023 presidential election gathers momentum, ThisNigeria is carrying out a preliminary national survey via email on their preferred choice in the post-President Muhammadu Buhari era.
• Give three reasons for your choice at info@thisnigeria.com
• Who’ll you have as your president post -Buhari era?
Even though some of the names displayed in the survey have not signified their interest, political undercurrents have suggested that consultations are currently ongoing at different levels.
The two leading political parties and others have yet to come out with the zoning formula for their presidential slot, but the survey has propped up names of possible candidates across the political divide from the north and south.
A brief profile of a few of the would-be contestants is listed in the first phase of this report tagged, “The big race (1).”
Bola Ahmed Tinubu
Bola Tinubu is a national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The former Governor of Lagos State (1999 to 2007), had after an initial attempt in 2007 to bring together the fragmented opposition parties into a “mega-party” capable of challenging the Peoples Democratic Party, succeeded in creating a “mega opposition” party paid off with the merger of three biggest opposition parties (the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the new PDP (nPDP), into the APC in February 2013. He supported President Muhammadu Buhari, who had previously contested in the 2003, 2007, and 2011 presidential elections as the APC presidential candidate in 2015. Buhari’s victory ended the 16-year rule of the PDP. Some groups have been going round the country drumming support for his candidature ahead of the 2023 general election.
Kayode Fayemi
Kayode Fayemi, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), is the current Governor of Ekiti State and Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum. He previously served in office between 2010 and 2014. He was also the Minister of Solid Minerals Development in President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet from 11 November 2015 to 30 May 2018, when he resigned to contest for a second time as Governor of Ekiti State. Although he has not signified his interest to contest the 2023 presidential election, there are subtle underground moves that indicate that the politician and who is a doctorate in War Studies from King’s College London, will contest the presidential election after completing his second tenure as governor in 2022.
Peter Obi
Peter Obi was the governor of Anambra State from June 2007 to March 2014 under the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). He was the vice-presidential candidate in the 2019 election under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party. The board room guru and politician has always harped on the need to address the economic challenges facing the nation. With the serious clamour for the presidential slot to be zones to the south, Obi is tipped to be one of the potential aspirants from the southeast region. ThisNigeria learnt that underground consultations are ongoing.
Yemi Osinbajo
Yemi Osinbajo is the incumbent Vice-President of Nigeria. He served as Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice under the administration of Bola Tinubu in Lagos State. After the formation of the All Progressives Congress, the professor of law was tasked with other notable Nigerians in the party with the development of a manifesto for the new political party. This culminated in the presentation of the “Roadmap to a New Nigeria”, a document published by APC as its manifesto in 2013. The highlights of the Roadmap included a free meal school plan, and a conditional cash transfer to millions of the poorest Nigerians if they enrol their children in school and immunise them. On 17 December 2014, APC presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, announced Osinbajo as his running mate for the 2015 general elections. There had been several underground consultations to make him contest the 2023 presidential elections but he had distanced himself from the moves.
Nyesom Wike
Nyesom Wike is the current Governor of Rivers State. He is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and one of the strong pillars and support of the party in the last seven years. The strong man of Rivers politics has been at the forefront of the pursuit of fiscal federalism as part of moves to restructure the country. Although he has not made his intention known, some Nigerians believe that given his antecedents as a performing governor he should contest the presidency in 2023.
Atiku Abubakar
Atiku Abubakar was Vice President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007 during the presidency of Olusegun Obasanjo. Since he entered politics in 1993, Atiku Abubakar has unsuccessfully contested five times for the office of President of Nigeria in 1993, 2007, 2011, 2015, and 2019. In 1993, he contested the Social Democratic Party presidential primaries losing to Moshood Abiola and Baba Gana Kingibe. He was a presidential candidate of the Action Congress in the 2007 presidential election coming in third to Umaru Yar’Adua of the PDP and Muhammadu Buhari of the ANPP. He contested the presidential primaries of the People’s Democratic Party during the 2011 presidential election losing out to incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan. In 2014, he joined the All Progressives Congress ahead of the 2015 presidential election and contested the presidential primaries losing to Muhammadu Buhari. In 2017, he returned to the PDP and was the party presidential candidate during the 2019 presidential election. He is believed to be one of the contenders ahead of the 2023 election.
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Yahaya Bello
Yahaya Bello is the current Governor of Kogi State. Bello was declared winner of the 2015 Kogi gubernatorial election after he was chosen on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the replacement for the late Abubakar Audu, who originally won the election but died before the result was declared. On 16 November 2019, Bello was elected to a second term after he defeated PDP nominee Musa Wada by over 200,000 votes. His campaign trail has been going round states in the country to garner support for the youngest governor in Nigeria and the only governor to be born after the civil war.
Nasir el-Rufai
Nasir el-Rufai is a Nigerian politician who is the Governor of Kaduna State, in office since 2015. He was Minister of the Federal Capital Territory from 2003 to 2007 and the director of the Bureau of Public Enterprises. He is a founding member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). There are underground moves to project him as a candidate in the 2023 presidential election.
Babagana Zulum
Babagana Zulum became the serving Governor of Borno State in the 2019 Governorship election under the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC). The Ph.D. holder in Soil and Water Engineering was made Commissioner of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement by Governor Kashim Shetima of Borno State, a position he held till 2018. He has been passionate about the fight against insurgency in Borno State and the northeast in general. There are indications that he might contest for the 2023 presidential election.
Aminu Tambuwal
Aminu Tambuwal is the Governor of Sokoto State having won the election in the 2015 governorship poll and was re-elected in 2019. A member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Tambuwal served as the 10th Speaker of the House of Representatives. In August 2018, Tambuwal defected from the All Progressives Congress (PDP) back to the PDP. He contested the presidential primaries of the PDP in 2019 and it is believed that he is still a major contender in the race ahead of the 2023 election.
