In history, Nigeria has the highest number of presidential candidates printed on the ballot paper for 2019 elections. The elections which were scheduled to happen today have been rescheduled for February 23, 2019.
When you look at the ballot paper for the presidential candidate you would think it’s a booklet for all Africa presidents but no, they are the 2019 presidential aspirants.
Among the many contestants, two stand out to be the most influential and politically powerful. These are the sitting president, Buhari and his counterpart, Abubakar. These two are main contestants for the seat.
What is Buhari promising?
The stern former general led Nigeria briefly in the 1980s as a dictator and unsuccessfully contested several elections after military rule ended in 1999 before finally winning the top job.
(Buhari now describes himself as a “converted Democrat.”) While voters and pundits alike were optimistic he could diversify the oil-dependent economy, tackle graft, and end a deadly insurgency by Islamist group Boko Haram, his popularity started to wane after falling oil prices triggered Nigeria’s first economic contraction in a quarter century in 2016.
Investors blame him for exacerbating the slump and deterring investment by imposing capital controls.
He also leaned on the central bank not to weaken the currency, the naira, which it was eventually forced to do.
He now pledges to bolster spending on new transport and electricity projects. His plans include building rail links between all state capitals and completing a $5 billion hydropower project funded by China. He has also promised to increase the minimum wage.
What about his chief rival- Abubakar?
Abubakar, a father of 26 who is widely known as Atiku and has business interests ranging from oil services to beverages, says he’ll draw on his experience in the private sector to lift the economy.
An admirer of the late Conservative U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, he favors incentives to encourage investment, selling most of the state oil company, floating the naira and removing a price cap that keeps the cost of gasoline in Nigeria among the lowest in the world.
Who is likely to win?