With the nomination on Saturday by his party of opposition leader Peter Obi as candidate for the 2027 presidential election in Nigeria, the country will replay the 2023 election, with three major candidates including the outgoing president Bola Tinubu.
Former governor of Anambra State in the southeast of the country, Mr. Obi was nominated as the candidate by the Democratic Congress of Nigeria (NDC), an emerging political party registered last February.
"No nation can prosper when its citizens can no longer sleep soundly," Mr. Obi said after accepting his nomination as candidate, referring to Nigeria's persistent security problems.
Currently in power, the All Progressives Congress (APC) had last week designated President Bola Tinubu, who had more than 10 million votes in the party primaries.
The widespread discontent caused by the deteriorating security situation in the country, and by the economic reforms that marked much of his first term (but which, according to the government and analysts, revived the economy and attracted investors), could make his re-election difficult.
But the opposition remains divided, which conversely could be favorable to it.
The candidacy of Atiku Abubakar, former vice-president, for the African Democratic Congress (ADC), opens up a configuration close to that of 2023.
Mr. Tinubu then won the presidential election with 36.6% of the vote, ahead of Mr. Abubakar at 29% and Mr. Obi at 25%.
However, according to local media, he is expected to have Rabiu Kwankwaso as his running mate next year, who garnered just over 6% of the vote in 2023.
