As the 2019 general elections draw near, a lot has been going on in Nigeria. People are full of expectations and hope that whoever will be elected into office will perform better than those who came before them. Below is a list of the presidential candidates from 5 political parties.
Muhammadu Buhari (APC)
President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR of Nigeria was born in the year 1942 and has been in the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria since 2015. He is a retired major general in the Nigerian Army and he also was once the head of state of the nation while he was yet in the military. As the 2019 general election approach, he is still the first choice of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the presidential race.
President Buhari before winning the 2015 elections had run for the office of the president in the country in the years 2003, 2007, and 2011 elections. It was in 2015 with the merger of three political parties to form APC and with Buhari as its presidential candidate, that he won the election making it the first time an officeholder lost to an opposing candidate in the nation.
Atiku Abubakar (PDP)
Atiku Abubakar GCON is a Nigerian politician and business mogul that was born in November, 1946. He was the Vice President of the country between 1999 and 2007, a running mate of former President Olusegun Obasanjo under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). For twenty years, he worked in the Nigeria Customs Service and rose to the level of Deputy Director. He was elected Governor of Adamawa State. After having issues with former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Atiku left PDP to Action Congress (AC) in order to run for presidency but he lost the election as he came third after former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua (PDP) and Muhammadu Buhari of the All Nigeria Peoples’ Party (ANPP).
The approaching 2019 general elections has seen Atiku Abubakar as the presidential candidate for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) having returned to the party.
Donald Duke (SDP)
Donald Duke is another one of Nigeria’s many politicians who was born in September, 1961 in Calabar, Cross-River State to Henry Etim Duke who was the longest serving Controller General of the Nigerian Customs Service ever. He was Governor of the state between 1999 and 2007. Duke has received a lot of commendation for his contribution to agriculture, urban development, environment, government, information and communication, investment drive, and tourism in Nigeria. He began the Obudu Ranch International Mountain Race that pulled contestants and visitors from other countries, he also started the Calabar Carnival also referred to as “Africa’s largest street party” in 2004.
Duke tried to run for presidency in 2007 under PDP, but he stepped down for Umaru Yar’Adua. Now he has left PDP to run for presidency in the 2019 general elections under Social Democratic Party (SDP).
Major General John Gbor (APGA)
Rtd. Major General John W.T Gbor has been picked by the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) to be its presidential candidate for the 2019 general elections in Nigeria. The announcement was made by the party’s Chairman, Dr. Victor Oye to the press after coming out of the party’s meeting of the National Working Committee (NWC). Chief Jerry Chukwueke was named as the running mate of Major General John Gbor. In the words of the Chairman;
“Our presidential aspirant is a retired Major General of the Nigerian Army with a PhD from one of the Ivy colleges in the United States of America. Our Vice Presidential candidate is a technocrat, international businessman with many degrees in economic and business management.”
Major General John Gbor is a native of Katsina-Ala LGA in Benue State while his running mate is a native of Imo State.
According to the Chairman of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), the National Working Committee of the party is doing their best to make sure that the affairs of the party is properly positioned to improve the party’s fortunes.
Dr. Olusegun Mimiko (ZLP)
Dr. Olusegun Mimiko who happens to be the contiguous former Governor of Ondo State has been declared the presidential candidate of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) soon after he abandoned the Labour Party (LP). He was formerly in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) before he left for the Labour Party (LP) in June, this year. As a result of a crisis that sprung up soon after he abruptly returned to the LP regarding his desire to run for presidency as the party’s candidate, he made a move to Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) where he also made the announcement of his intentions to run for the office of the president in the 2019 general elections and was later elected by the party.
The Chairman of ZLP who also happens to be the Chief Returning Officer of the party, Dan Nwanyanwu stated that Mimiko satisfied all the requirements of the party and obeyed the party’s constitutions.
