Politics

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

Published

2 years ago

March 23, 2022

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.

Related Topics:2023 elections ATIKU Featured Nigeria

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Politics

Coup: Regional bloc, ECOWAS might intervene in Sierra Leone ‘if need be’

Published

13 hours ago

November 29, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

Amidst a wave of military coups in the West African sub-region, a delegation of the ECOWAS Commission has hinted at likely bloc intervention in Sierra Leone following a failed coup over the weekend.

A chief of the commission and officials of the Nigerian government were received by Sierra Leone’s President, Julius Maada Bio, after Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the head of the 15-member sub-regional bloc, sent a message to Bio through Omar Alieu Touray, the head of the Ecowas Commission.

Gunmen last week exchanged fire for several hours with security forces in what the government attributed to “renegade soldiers.” Meanwhile, the police promised a “reward” to anyone providing information leading to the capture of 34 suspected fugitives.

“ECOWAS is ready and committed to supporting the people of Sierra Leone, including to strengthen their national security and the deployment, if need be, of regional elements,” Touray said.

The visit by the envoys appears to be a show of support for the government of Sierra Leone in the wake of the fatal attack that rocked the country’s capital, Freetown, on Sunday.

ECOWAS commended Bio’s and his government’s leadership in putting an end to what he described as a “very unfortunate incident.”

Concern has been raised by the wave of coups that have swept through Africa in the last three years, particularly in the West African bloc. The bloc has seen military takeovers of democratically elected governments in 2023 in Niger and Gabon, where troops removed Mohamed Bazzoum and Ali Bongo, respectively.

Politics

Another Tunisian opposition leader, Moussi begins hunger strike in prison

Published

13 hours ago

November 29, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

Another Tunisian opposition leader, Abir Moussi has begun a hunger strike in prison to protest what her lawyers described as a violation of her rights to freedom and political activity.

Moussi, who is a prominent opponent of Tunisian President, Kais Saied, was last month sentenced after police arrested her at the presidential palace entrance on suspicion of assault intended to cause chaos, viewed as part of a crackdown on opposition politicians by some watchers.

In a statement, her party, the Free Constitutional Party (PDL), cautioned against “attempts to fabricate legal obstacles to remove her from participating in the presidential elections” that are anticipated to take place the following year.

In a statement, her attorneys said that Moussi would go on a 16-day hunger strike to draw attention to the issue of violence against women in Tunisia. She is an advocate of the late president Zine El Abidine ben Ali, whose overthrow in 2011 was brought about by widespread demonstrations; an uprising subsequently extended throughout the Middle East, dubbed “the Arab Spring”.

In a similar move in September, embattled Tunisian opposition leader, Rached Ghannouchi, who has been a political prisoner since April, also threatened to begin a hunger strike in captivity.

Moussi faces charges of plotting against state security alongside other opposition figures who are in jail. She had accused Saied of staging a coup in order to close the elected parliament and impose rule by decree.

President Saied has been accused of suppressing dissenting voices in the nation since taking office. This year, the police has detained over 20 political figures, including Ghannouchi, on suspicion of trying to compromise national security.

More than 20 prominent politicians have been detained by police this year; some are a accused of being involved in plots against state security. “Terrorists, traitors, and criminals” is how Saied has characterised the people under arrest.