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Will Nigeria’s former Vice President, Atiku, be 6-time lucky as he joins 2023 presidential race?

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Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar will for the sixth time contest to be Nigeria’s president as he officially declared his intention to run for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) presidential ticket ahead of the 2023 general elections.

Atiku’s declaration comes a week after he solicited the support of members of the Board of Trustees of the PDP last week for his ambition to become to grab the presidential ticket of Nigeria’s main position and hopefully become Nigeria’s next president.

The official declaration was held on Wednesday in Abuja, Nigeria’s seat of power at the International Conference Centre.

The presidential hopeful stressed the state of insecurity in Nigeria and vowed that his administration would not tolerate insecurity. “The most fundamental right of every Nigerian is the right to life. But the APC has failed to protect the life of her citizens… under my Presidency I will not tolerate insecurity.

He also emphasized other critical aspects of Nigeria that he believes the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) hasn’t met up to expectations.

“They said we should go back to farms. How can Nigerians return to the farms when they have not secured the farms?

“When the APC came in 2015, they met a debt profile of N12tn. But now we have more than N32tn in debt. Under my watch, I will reduce borrowing.”

 “Nigeria is in dire need of visionary leadership. Presently Nigeria is a sinking ship that must be urgently rescued. That is why I am announcing my candidacy for the President

Since his entry into politics in 1993, Atiku Abubakar has unsuccessfully contested to be Nigeria’s president five times. In 1993, 2007, 2011, 2015, and 2019. Today’s announcement put him in the ring for the sixth.

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 Peoples 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 Peoples Democratic Party and was the party presidential candidate during the 2019 presidential election, again losing to incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari.

It remains to be seen if Atiku will get lucky in his sixth push for Nigeria’s top job. His first hurdle will be to grab his party, PDP’s presidential ticket amidst competition from other candidates notably among which are former Nigeria’s Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto state who are both from the same region as him.

There are possibly other contending voices within PDP from the other parts of the country who seem interested in grabbing the presidential ticket also, but none has declared an interest. One of them is Atiku’s running mates in the last presidential elections, Mr. Peter Obi who has hinted that he would contest for Nigeria’s top job if the PDP zones the position in his region.

After the internal party hurdle will be the actual height to scale, to defeat the party of an incumbent president is not a common feat in African politics. But then, nothing is cast in stone in Nigeria, not even being a Northern candidate contesting against a Southern candidate as some have argued. Previous presidential elections in Nigeria proved that.

Aside from the North/South divide of Nigeria’s presidential election race, Atiku can also draw motivation from the fact that current President Muhammadu Buhari defeated a sitting president Goodluck Jonathan in 2015. Hence, there is all to fight for.  I wish him luck.

Politics

Ghana’s Supreme Court reinstates ruling party’s majority

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The ruling New Patriotic Party regained its majority in the legislature ahead of the Dec. 7 election after Ghana’s Supreme Court declared on Tuesday that the speaker of parliament’s declaration of four seats as vacant was illegal.

 

Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the leader of the NPP caucus, petitioned the supreme court of the West African nation to reverse Speaker Alban Bagbin’s decision.

 

Bagbin had said that one member of the National Democratic Congress and two members of the NPP had resigned their seats when they registered to run as independents.

 

Another lawmaker with an NPP leaning filed as an NPP candidate to run for office.

 

Due to Bagbin’s decision, the NDC now holds 136 members in parliament, compared to the 135 held by the NPP, the party of outgoing President Nana Akufo-Addo.

 

The approval of Supreme Court nominees, loans, and bill enactments, as well as the presentation of a provisional budget for the first quarter of 2025, were all delayed by the indefinite postponement of two further parliamentary sessions.

 

In a televised decision, Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo declared that Afenyo-Markin’s appeal was successful by a majority vote of 5:2. She noted that the court will later submit the rationale for its ruling.

 

According to Afenyo-Markin, the decision permitted the parliament to return to its regular activities. Among other things, it is anticipated to approve a $250 million World Bank loan intended to support the financial industry and give corporations tax breaks.

 

 

A request for comment from Bagbin’s representative was not answered.

 

Although some observers predict a hotly contested election, opinion surveys suggest that primary opposition leader John Dramani Mahama will likely defeat NPP contender and incumbent Vice President Muhamudu Bawumia in next month’s election.

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Senegal: PM Sonko urges followers to avenge campaign violence

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Senegal’s Prime Minister, Ousmane Sonko, has advised Pastef party followers to exact retribution for claimed violence against them during the Sunday parliamentary election campaign.

 

Before a presidential election in March in some of the greatest disturbances in Senegal’s history, supporters of the prime minister, also president of Pastef, battled with police. Since Sonko’s ally, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, won the vote, the nation has remained peaceful. He defeated then-president Macky Sall handily.

 

 

However, reports of periodic conflicts between various party supporters have surfaced recently as the nation gets ready for a legislative contest that will finally determine how much Faye and Sonko will be able to carry out their agenda.

 

Sonko claimed in a social media post attacks against Pastef supporters in the capital Dakar and other towns since campaigning began.

 

 

“May each patriot they have attacked and injured, be proportionally avenged. We will exercise our legitimate right to respond,” he wrote.

The text accompanied a photo of a young man showing a gashing wound on his forearm.

 

The first week of campaigning saw an increase in violence reported by a local civil society group involving conflicts between supporters in central Senegal and the burning of an opposition party headquarters in Dakar.

 

Calling for calm, the interior ministry said on Monday it had been notified of acts of violence and sabotage against party caravans and other campaign activity.

 

In order to stop damage, rights defender Alioune Tine asked politicians to exhibit “moderation and wisdom” in their speech and requested the interior ministry to invite various party representatives to meet.

 

 

“The verbal escalation has reached a critical threshold, we have the impression of going to war,” Tine posted on X.

 

 

Pastef is up against former ruling parties that have united ex-presidents Sall and Abdoulaye Wade into a coalition.

 

Dissolving the opposition-led national assembly in September, Faye accused legislators of not participating in substantive budget and other proposal debates.

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