George Gomez
Political candidates in Nigeria are making their final appeals for support in a general election on February 25.
Voters in Africa’s most populous country will choose a successor to President Muhammadu Buhari, who is nearing the end of his second and final term.
Eighteen candidates are vying for the presidency. Three are clear front-runners – Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress; opposition People’s Democratic Party nominee Atiku Abubakar, who lost to Buhari in the 2019 election; and Peter Obi, a Labour Party candidate who is aiming to end the two-party system.
As polling day nears, millions of people affected by unemployment, inflation, and fuel and cash shortages are examining candidates’ economic plans. Insecurity is also a major concern among the electorate, as banditry in the country’s northwest and attacks by groups linked to ISIL (ISIS) in the northeast remain a persistent challenge for the government and security forces. Secessionist groups have been blamed for a string of recent attacks on election commission offices in southeastern Nigeria, adding to concerns over the freedom and fairness of the vote.
More than 96 million registered voters will also choose members of the Senate and House of Representatives. Political analysts will be closely watching the votes of more than 10.5 million newly registered voters, of whom 84 percent are aged 18-34.
In this episode of The Stream, we’ll look at the presidential candidates’ vision for Nigeria as election day nears and ask what may lie ahead for the country under a change of leadership.
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