2023 Elections | Page 13 of 15

The 2023 presidential election won’t happen for another eight months, but the ball’s already rolling. Parties have picked their presidential candidates and candidates have picked their running mates, even if some of them are placeholders. All those things are important, but the centrepiece that validates an electoral process is the voter: you.

There are currently two types of voters: those that have a difficult time picking their preferred presidential candidate and those that already daydream about the kind of life Nigerians will have when their preferred presidential candidate wins. If you’ve already decided, how can you turn that daydream into a reality by getting your candidate elected? Well, there are some helpful tips.

Adopt a catchy group name

A rapidly-emerging trend of Nigerian election years is group names for supporters of presidential candidates; this year hasn’t been an exception. Buharists had their time in the sun and the Atikulated and Kwankwasiyya have been around for some time. These days, there’s a rising wave of Obidients and a colony of the BATified.

Sure, it scores cool points online to have a rad group name to identify with, but that’s the least of the things you have to do to get your presidential candidate into office. So what do you do?

Donate to their campaign

Yes.

Just like cocaine addiction, election campaigns cost money. The spending limit of a presidential campaign was recently raised from ₦1 billion to ₦5 billion. And unless your candidate is secretly a drug dealer or Ponzi scheme merchant, there’s no way they can shoulder that financial burden alone. They need all the extra ₦1k and ₦2k that you can afford to support their ministry. Keep in mind, though, that it’s against the law to donate more than ₦50 million — just in case your money grows like grass.

Advertise your support

More than cash donations, you can also provide material support to contribute to your favourite candidate’s success. It can be as basic as changing your social media display pictures, sharing campaign posts created by your candidate and attending their rallies and campaign events.

ALSO READ: Who Are the Candidates for the 2023 Presidential Election?

Propagate their message

There’s no better way to help your candidate’s ministry than to evangelise their selling points to everyone you can find: your neighbour, your seatmate inside the public bus, the people at your favourite salon and even the person that aired your WhatsApp message three years ago. Just like a movie you enjoy, your candidate can gain more appeal through the sheer power of word-of-mouth.

Organise

You don’t have to act alone in pushing your favourite candidate’s ministry. It’s almost impossible, even. You can always find political action groups online and offline and connect with them to push your candidate.

Volunteer

You can also volunteer to directly work for your candidate’s campaign in an official capacity. You can help the campaign to fundraise or engage in voter outreach, education and registration drive ahead of the election. Your candidate needs as many people as possible to reach out to every potential voter and secure their votes.

Have your PVC to vote, duh

The highest form of devotion to your candidate’s success is to vote for them at the polls. It’s hard to do that if you don’t have your permanent voters card (PVC). It helps that you changed your social media display picture for your candidate, but voting for them at the polls is what has the biggest impact on getting them across the finish line. That’s the only way your candidate’s journey can end in praise.

ALSO READ: Time Is Running Out for You to Register for Your PVC
Nigeria’s Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, is every Nigerian politician’s prayer point. He worked as a civil servant and later as a lecturer for well over a decade. Then he clinched political office for the first time in 1999 as a representative of Bade/Jakusko Constituency of Yobe State in the federal House of Representatives. He’s not left the National Assembly since then.

The man has spent 23 years in the corridors of Nigeria’s parliament. There are millions of Nigerians eligible to vote next year who weren’t even born 23 years ago. But Lawan used all that time to rise from a lower chamber lawmaker to a senator, a senate leader and, finally, his current position as senate president.

Why is Lawan’s story relevant now? Well, because his luck seems about to run out.

A game of eggs (not really)

“Don’t put all your eggs in one basket” is usually sound advice — whether you’re a poultry farmer or a Nigerian politician. There’s a trend of Nigerian politicians trying out for two different positions during the same election cycle. For example, in Nigeria, a first-term governor can contest for the presidency, lose it but somehow still find a way to pick up a governorship ticket for a second term in office.

What would usually happen is that a placeholder candidate would “win” the ticket and wait for the real owner to come and reclaim it if they lose the other election. It’s a game Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed, played in the recent primary elections. Former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, also did this when he lost the presidential primary election in 2018 but still picked up a senatorial ticket before the 2019 elections.

Lawan’s ~~perfect~~ plan

When Ahmad Lawan joined the race for the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the contest already had its favourites. So it was no surprise that by the time the election was done, he only finished in the fourth position with 152 delegate votes.

This was the point where Lawan would shrug off defeat and simply march over to pick up his consolatory senatorial ticket and live happily ever after in the National Assembly. Except this is where things get rocky.

ALSO READ: Lessons We Learnt from APC Presidential Primaries

Deus ex Machina

When the APC conducted the primary election for the Yobe North senatorial district that Lawan was unable to compete in, a certain Bashir Machina won the ticket unopposed.

This guy.

Since Lawan’s presidential loss, the inevitable chatter about him replacing Machina on the senatorial ballot has become a news feature. And Machina’s response to that has been a media campaign to resist the powers and principalities that can make that a reality. He’s written to the APC’s leadership that he has no intention to step down and done TV interviews to basically say:

Machina won his first election in 1992 as a lawmaker in the federal House of Representatives. This means he’s technically Lawan’s legislative egbon and not a random rollover that can be bullied. Machina is even interested in becoming the Senate President, and who can begrudge him for that? We imagine he feels like this:

How will this end?

Machina may appear to be in the driving seat of this game, but there’s still time for things to change. July 15th, 2022 is the deadline for parties to replace candidates and submit names to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). This gives a lot of room for drama to play out. Like his brisk presidential campaign, Ahmad Lawan has maintained silence over the tug of war, so it’s difficult to know where his head is at.

Lawan’s game format was tested and trusted. He wasn’t the first to do it and get away with it. His only error was not accounting for Bashir Machina. And what that means is one of Nigeria’s longest-serving lawmaker may be on the verge of unplanned retirement.

ALSO READ: Who Are the Candidates for the 2023 Presidential Election?
It’s still eight months to the 2023 general elections but a lot of Nigerian voters are starting to pick their corners. Young Nigerians online are already tagging themselves “Obidients,” “Atikulated” or “Batified” as hip-sounding in-group names for the candidates they want to elect as the next president of Nigeria.

The noise surrounding the election has been so overwhelmingly one-sided that it’s easy to forget the presidential election is only one of the elections taking place next year.

Yes, there are other elections to keep an eye on, so let’s take a look at them.

Presidential election

The president is the chief executive officer of the country and you don’t even need more than a secondary school certificate to become one.

This position is the only one that every eligible Nigerian anywhere in the country can vote for. So it’s no surprise that it’s the position that gets the most attention. The next presidential election will take place on February 25th, 2023.

ALSO READ: 5 Roles of the Nigerian Vice President You Should Know

Governorship elections

Governors are CEOs too, only at the state level. They have the administrative power to run their states. Governors also have the power to make appointments to the state judiciary and other regulatory bodies in the state.

They can do gun poses too.

In 2023, governorship elections won’t hold in eight of Nigeria’s 36 states. Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi, Ondo and Osun all have their governorship elections out of sync with the general elections. This disruption was caused by court judgments that nullified the election of their governors at different times in the past.

The governorship elections of the remaining 28 states will take place on March 11th, 2023.

National Assembly elections

The National Assembly consists of the Senate, which is the upper chamber, and the House of Representatives, which is the lower chamber. Nigeria has a total of 109 senators and 360 members in the House of Reps. This means Nigerian voters have the chance to elect 469 federal lawmakers to represent their interests. Each representative will be elected by voters in their constituencies.

Making laws is the most prominent power of lawmakers in the National Assembly. The laws they make, with the assent of the president, have great effects over the lives of Nigerians. The National Assembly also has approval powers over money decisions like budgeting and loans. This is why it’s important for voters to be mindful of the representatives they’re sending to the National Assembly.

The National Assembly elections will take place alongside the presidential election on February 25th, 2023.

State House of Assembly elections

The lawmakers in a State House of Assembly perform the same functions as the National Assembly lawmakers. The only difference is that they do it at the state level and work with state governors. They’re involved in the national lawmaking process if the National Assembly wants to do something as major as a constitutional review such as restructuring the country or granting more constitutional rights to women. Federal lawmakers need the approval of two-thirds of the 36 state houses of assembly across Nigeria to do these things. This makes them just as vital to Nigeria’s progress or stagnation.

Constitutionally, a House of Assembly has at least 24 members and a maximum of 40, depending on the size of the state. Unlike the governorship elections, the election of state lawmakers takes place at the same time every four years. This means all 36 states of the federation will conduct House of Assembly elections on March 11th, 2023, even in the seven states where the governorship elections are off-cycle.

Which election is more important?

Every election is always regarded as the one that either makes or breaks a country. The 2023 presidential election has predictably started to carry the same heavy cross too. And while it’s important that Nigerians elect the right president for the country, it’s equally important that they pay just as much attention to all the other offices.

The president may hold tremendous power, but decisions made at state levels tend to have a more immediate impact on the well-being of citizens. For example, state governments are responsible for issues like secondary healthcare and, by extension, primary healthcare which is the responsibility of the local governments. Services like this are pivotal for Nigerians.

Every level of government is responsible for the progress of Nigeria. So it’s important to elect the right candidates and not get carried away with just the presidential election.

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We had to stay up all night to watch 22 presidential aspirants speak and then wait for over 2,000 delegates to vote using paper like it was 1980. But the All Progressives Congress’ (APC) national convention has finally ended after three days.

We observed a few things.

Everybody loves kissing Buhari’s ~~ass~~ ring

If you took a shot each time an aspirant mentioned Buhari’s name during their pitch to delegates, you’d be blind drunk before the first 10 of them had spoken. Actually, you’d have liver damage if you took those shots during Ikeobasi Mokelu’s speech alone. Most of the aspirants were neck-deep in Buhari’s rectal sanctum, so it’s understandable the president’s face looked like this for most of the night.

Everybody hates bulk SMS

When he climbed the podium for his final address to delegates, Pastor Tunde Bakare switched on his best Martin Luther King impression to toast them. But while his opponents were sending credit alerts in dollars to these delegates, he announced that he sent bulk SMS to them instead.

No one was surprised he got zero votes, but he got some online love for remembering the victims of the massacre in Ondo State.

Ben Ayade is basically Shakespeare

The bar is underground, but Senator Professor Ben Ayade, the governor of Cross River State — as he loves to be called — is easily the Shakespeare of his generation. In his speech to delegates, he talked about the “concept of Afghanistanism” and how he intends to fight insecurity with “satellite videography”. We don’t know what any of those things mean, but they were provocative and got the people going. It was giving a secondary school debate.

Summary of Governor Ben Ayade's address at the APC National Convention: pic.twitter.com/SrAHABciyL
— Citizen by Zikoko (@ZikokoCitizen) June 7, 2022

Tein Jack-Rich talks too much

When he climbed the podium to address delegates, not a lot of people knew who Tein Jack-Rich was. By the time he was done, we discovered his mother’s natural brilliance brought all the boys to the yard, three different men promised her marriage, impregnated her and all abandoned her. Then, a man who would later become his father, who retired early from the Army because of a bullet wound, rescued her from the streets, but also left her eventually because, well, everyone leaves. Jack-Rich was also in primary school till he was 15 years old before he moved to the city and then became a rich man.

All of this could have been a Twitter thread or a smashing Asaba Nollywood hit, but Mr Jack-Rich paid ₦100 million to tell it to delegates who said, “Touching story, but you no do transfer.”

ALSO READ: The Wildest Sob Stories Ever by Nigerian Politicians

Ahmad Lawan thinks he’s Joe Biden

Senate President Ahmad Lawan’s pitch for the presidency was that developed countries usually elect senators as presidents. He pointed to Joe Biden and Barack Obama as shining examples of senators who became presidents. The only thing he forgot was that he’s not Joe Biden, and no one thinks about Nigeria at the mention of “developed countries”.

Osinbajo wants to send black people to the moon or something

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is proof that you can get away with anything as long as you have a sweet mouth. When he shared his vision with delegates at the convention, you’d be forgiven for forgetting — for a moment — that he’s been part of the current government for the past seven years. One of the highlights of his address was sharing his vision that Nigeria could become the first country to send a team of black astronauts to space by 2040. We don’t want to be accused of being small-minded so we won’t laugh at that vision. But hopefully, we can hack 24/7 power supply first so that our ship doesn’t get stuck in Mercury retrograde.

Nigeria remains motherless

Other than calling delegates “Naijas”, Uju Ohanenye stood out at the APC convention as the only woman in the race. “Mama don come on board. Everything go better,” she said with the air of someone addressing their starving children at the dinner table. She said she only joined the race because Nigeria needs a mother, but then stepped down for… Tinubu just moments later. The search for Nigeria’s mother continues.

We can’t trust anything Onu says

Remember how Buhari’s campaign team promised to make ₦1 the same as $1 only to deny it after winning the election? We didn’t think anyone would make that mistake ever again, but the former Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu, took a step further: he promised to make the naira even stronger than the dollar. This is the same man who promised to localise the production of pencils and failed to deliver that after seven years. We believe him as much as we believe in the government’s poverty alleviation schemes.

Tinubu wants to carry Nigeria’s problems — even though his hands can barely hold anything

Tinubu’s ideal candidate for Nigeria’s next president is someone who’s willing to carry Nigeria’s many problems on their head. And, of course, he nominated himself to be that person, even though his hands were shaking like a mini Tiger generator for the herculean task of flipping the page of his written speech. He won APC’s presidential ticket at the end of the convention and we frankly don’t know what to learn from that other than when it’s your turn, it’s your turn. Good luck to everyone involved.

ALSO READ: Lessons We Learnt from PDP’s National Convention
Can we all agree that the DJ who kept dropping bops was the best part of last night’s APC convention? While we sat and watched contestant after contestant come on stage to either step-down or drop hot lies, the DJ turned each break into a dance party. Inspired by his incredibly shady playlist, we’ve decided to give each presidential candidate a song that accurately matches their chaotic energy.

1. Bola Ahmed Tinubu — Buga (Lo Lo Lo) by Kizz Daniel

This election has given Tinubu more nicknames than your local up and coming rapper. The self-declared kingmaker who’s decided that he must be president before he turns 100, was welcomed to the APC convention stage with “Collect your money. Wake up” from Kizz Daniel’s Buga (Lo Lo Lo), playing loudly. After hearing the lyrics to that song, we’re not surprised other candidates started withdrawing from the race. It’s almost like the ₦100 million they spent in buying the presidential form was shawarma money.

2. Professor Yemi Osinbajo — Playboy by Fireboy DML

No other song describes our BDSM king like this banger from Fireboy DML. A true Yoruba demon tune, Professor Yemi Osinbajo is the biggest political playboy of the presidential race. He has the swagger, the white agbada, the sweet mouth and most importantly, the gaslighting tricks. This man promised to change Nigeria and literally give us the moon like he hasn’t been a part of the current government for seven years. We see you, Christian Grey. Ooof!

3. Atiku Abubakar — Stand Strong by Davido

This has to be Atiku’s morning devotion song. After running for president five times, this man is still standing strong, even though most of us would prefer it if he just sat down. It can’t be that deep, sir. It’s almost like he forgot something in Aso Rock, because why has he been running for president way before we even had Nokia 3310? On Stand Strong, Davido sings about having more than nine lives, which might mean Atiku has three more elections if he loses the one in 2023. Wahala.

4. Rochas Okorocha — Levels by Flavour

It’s only in Nigeria that a presidential aspirant will confidently announce at the primaries that less than a week ago, he was in detention based on corruption charges. Rochas came on the stage to shade all the other aspirants and remind them that he was rich before he even went into politics, unlike the other brokies using government funds to run. With that type of energy, there’s no way Levels by Flavour isn’t this man’s theme song. Shade aside, that statement is rich, coming from someone who allegedly stole over ₦2.9 billion from public funds. Glass houses, Rochas, glass houses.

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5. Peter Obi — Gentility by Melvitto and Wande Coal

Peter Obi definitely listens to Gentitility, and we aren’t talking about the sped-up TikTok version. The former Anambra state governor has moved from vice presidential candidate to presidential aspirant at the PDP and now, Labour Party presidential candidate. He may not have the initial ginger of all the other presidential candidates, but he has managed to become an underdog ahead of the 2023 polls. You can definitely tell that this man recites the lines “Gentitlity oshey stupidity” every time he wakes up.

6. Nyesom Wike — Free Madness by Terry G

Is there anyone Nyesom Wike hasn’t fought with? From Bubu to Edo state governor, Godwin Obaseki, this man is famous for giving you gbas gbos if you mistakenly breathe in his direction. Since he lost the PDP ticket to ~~Vin Diesel~~ Atiku Abubakar, we doubt we’ll be seeing that energy in Aso Rock. Either way, Free Madness is definitely his morning alarm song.

7. Uju Ohanenye — Sweet Mother by Prince Nico

We should’ve known something was wrong when she started her speech by saying,” Naijas”. Where is the “s” from? Who says that? Because her motivation to run hinged on the assumption that Nigeria needs a mother, it feels apt that her official theme song be Sweet Mother by Prince Nico. Thanks for coming ma.

8. Rotimi Amaechi — Kilometre by Burna Boy

Why Kilometre by Burna Boy? Amaechi was the Minister of Transport, and he also ran a lap around a stadium to prove he’s fit to run for president. We didn’t even have to dig deep for this one. He repeatedly asked delegates not to vote for him if they didn’t think he was qualified. Quick question, sir, are we voting for a president or someone to represent us at the Olympics?

ALSO READ: Ranked: Top 15 Burna Boy Songs of All Time, According to Album Release
Insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results, but Atiku Abubakar definitely doesn’t play by the rules of random online quotes. The former vice president is the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2023 presidential election, but it’s not his first time. In fact, it’s his sixth time trying to become Nigeria’s Number One Citizen.

How did he fare the first five times? Let’s take a trip down memory lane.

1993

The first time Atiku ran for the presidency, bootcut jeans were the pinnacle of fashion. The man’s been trying to be president longer than Fireboy DML has been alive.

Atiku contested in the primary election of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) for the 1993 presidential election and finished third behind MKO Abiola and Baba Gana Kingibe in the first round of voting. He dropped out of the run-off election after making a deal to become Abiola’s running mate, but Abiola picked Kingibe after winning the ticket. It was Atiku’s first presidential breakfast, but it wasn’t his last.

2007

After two terms as a vice president, Atiku was ready to step into the big shoes of the presidency. His only problem at the time was President Olusegun Obasanjo. The two had a power struggle for years and accused each other of stealing from Nigeria’s treasury.

The conflict between the two forced Atiku out of the PDP to the Action Congress (AC) of Bola Tinubu in 2006. The AC practically gifted him the party’s presidential ticket with no contest, and it was his first time on the ballot, but the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) disqualified him over corruption allegations. Atiku fought this exclusion, and the Supreme Court cleared him to participate just days before the election.

That whiff of court victory didn’t follow Atiku into the presidential election. He finished third with 2.6 million votes behind the winner, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, who finished with 24.6 million votes and second-placed Muhammadu Buhari with 6.6 million votes.

ALSO READ: The Wildest Sob Stories Ever by Nigerian Politicians

2011

Atiku returned to the PDP like the prodigal son in 2009 and was gearing to go after the presidency again. This time, his main stumbling block was Goodluck Jonathan who had taken over as president following Yar’Adua’s death in 2010. The third time wasn’t the charm for Atiku, as he finished second to Jonathan in the PDP’s primary election and never made it to the ballot. Many feared that it would be the end of Atiku’s run at the top job. If only they knew.

2015

Atiku was near-certain that he wouldn’t be able to beat Jonathan to the ticket a second time, so he journeyed out of the PDP again. He complained that the party couldn’t be redeemed and joined the All Progressives Congress (APC). According to him, he was putting “Nigeria’s interests” first, but you could bet that was a synonym for “my presidential ambition”.

For the 2015 presidential election, Atiku contested for the ticket of the APC where he lost again to an old foe, Buhari. Once again, Atiku didn’t make it to the ballot, and that meant only one thing:

2019

If reading this article this far has taught you anything, it’s that Atiku cannot stay in one place, and he runs for the presidency every chance he gets. In 2017, he left the APC to return, once again, to the PDP. He finally won the party’s presidential ticket for the first time and was on the ballot as the biggest challenger to his old nemesis, President Buhari. Atiku won 11.3 million votes, his highest ever, but it was 3.8 million less than he needed to beat Buhari, who won again in what was the final contest between the two.

Atiku wants the presidency, no doubt, and has been accused of being too desperate for it. But the real question is does the presidency want him? That’s an answer to look forward to in February 2023.

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Like all elections, the 2023 general election has been lauded as what’ll make or break Nigeria. It’s been touted as another opportunity for young people to get into politics and make a change that’ll shame the people who have been running Nigeria into the ground since 1960.

But we’ve noticed a pattern of many of these young changemakers being the offsprings of the same politicians Nigerians want to see less of. Below are some of them.

Mustapha Lamido, son of Sule Lamido

Sule Lamido is a former federal minister, a former presidential candidate, and a former governor of Jigawa State. Mustapha is set to step into one of his father’s old shoes if he wins at the polls in 2023. The younger Lamido is the flagbearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Jigawa State governorship election. If he wins, he’d be replacing the man that replaced his father at the Jigawa State Government House. And the governor’s seat wouldn’t be the first thing father and son have in common, as they also shared a prison cell in the past when they were both arrested over a ₦1.4 billion bribery case in 2015.

Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu, daughter of James Ibori

Who can forget James Ibori? Not after he was convicted in the United Kingdom in 2012 for fraud and money laundering and served a few years behind bars. Erhiatake, the daughter of the former governor of Delta State and the current representative of Ethiope West constituency in the Delta State House of Assembly, has won the ticket of the PDP to contest to become the representative of Ethiope Federal Constituency at the Federal House Of Reps.

Bello El-Rufai, son of Nasir El-Rufai

Nasir El-Rufai is pretty well-known in political circles from his years as the FCT Minister and later governor of Kaduna State, a seat he still keeps warm. His son, Bello will be contesting in the 2023 general elections as the flagbearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to represent Kaduna North Federal Constituency in the House Of Reps.

You may remember Bello from one of his high profile Twitter controversies that involved threatening someone’s mother with gang rape and an ethnic-tinged attack on Igbos.

Marilyn Okowa-Daramola, daughter of Ifeanyi Okowa

Ifeanyi Okowa is a former senator and current governor of Delta State whose second term will end in 2023. But the Okowa name won’t leave public office if his daughter wins at the polls next year. She’s the PDP’s flagbearer to represent Ika North-East Constituency at the Delta State House of Assembly.

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Idris Ajimobi, son of Abiola Ajimobi

Abiola Ajimobi was a former senator and former governor of Oyo State. He left the Oyo Government House a year before he died of COVID-19 complications in 2020. His son, Idris Abiola-Ajimobi, will take part in the 2023 elections as the APC candidate for the Ibadan South-West II Constituency election.

Umar Ganduje, son of Abdullahi Ganduje

The governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje, is perhaps most widely-known for stuffing his babariga with thousands of dollars paid as bribe from a contractor. He’s been governor of Kano since 2015 and will end his tenure in 2023. His son, Umar, will contest in the 2023 elections for the seat of representative of Tofa, Rimin Gado, Dawakin Tofa Federal Constituency.

Olamijuwonlo Akala, son of Alao Akala

Before his death in January 2022, Alao Akala was a one-term governor of Oyo State and previously served as deputy governor. At the 2023 polls, his son, Olamijuwonlo, is contesting to become the representative of Ogbomoso North, South and Oriire Federal Constituency.

Joju Fayose, son of Ayo Fayose

Ayo Fayose is easily one of the most recognisable names in Nigerian politics, even if he cannot win one delegate to vote for him as a presidential aspirant. He’s a two-term governor of Ekiti State and a vocal critic of the Federal Government of President Buhari. His son, Joju, is the PDP flagbearer for the Ekiti Central Federal Constituency 1 election in 2023.

ALSO READ: Lessons We Learnt from PDP’s National Convention
If history has taught us only one thing about Nigerian politics, it’s that we can always expect to be entertained. Even when the public officials are robbing the country blind or banning things for no sensible reason, there’s always something entertaining we can use as a coping mechanism.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) became the first major party to elect its candidate for the 2023 presidential election. It’s a pivotal event that many Nigerians have been looking forward to for weeks because of its significance to next year’s contest. The PDP national convention has come and gone, and we learnt a few lessons.

Atiku won’t rest

Let’s start with the biggest winner. Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, won the PDP’s ticket at the national convention that took place between May 28th and May 29th 2022. His win makes him a motivational speaker’s wet dream because he still won’t stop aspiring for Nigeria’s highest office 30 years after his first try.

He’s been a presidential aspirant/candidate or vice-presidential candidate in elections in 1993, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, and 2019. We bet he mumbles, “Desire, aspire, perspire, inspire but don’t expire,” before he sleeps and when he wakes.

Breakfast goes around

Atiku defeated a dozen other aspirants, but the biggest loser is Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, the man who finished second behind him. The governor had by far been the loudest of the party’s aspirants and taken potshots at everyone else. He built his campaign solely on the claim that he’s the only one capable of winning the presidency back for the party.

Hard to argue against a guy who does this

When aspirants battled for the PDP’s ticket for the 2019 presidential election, Wike heavily backed Tambuwal against Atiku who eventually won the ticket. Fast-forward to 2022 when Wike could have done with some reciprocal support, Tambuwal dropped out of the race and announced his support for Atiku instead. It was a turning point of the contest, and it’s not a secret that Wike is salty about how it all went down.

Fayose is obsessed with Buhari

Look, we get it. Buhari doesn’t have many fans in the opposition party, but can someone please tell Mr Ayo Fayose that the president won’t be on the ballot next year? While giving his final address to delegates, the former Ekiti State governor kept praising himself as a man with a track record of defeating incumbents. He specifically asked delegates to make him the party’s candidate so he can defeat Buhari who it turns out won’t be contesting at all in 2023. No wonder he got zero votes by the time the convention was over.

Presidential aspirant, Ayodele Fayose, is now addressing the delegates.#PDPPrimaries #PDPConvention pic.twitter.com/ugQShClHPj
— Channels Television (@channelstv) May 28, 2022

ALSO READ: Delegates: The Real Cabal That’ll Determine Nigeria’s Next President

PDP misses the chance to make history

Tari Diana Oliver was the only female aspirant in the race for the PDP ticket. And since Nigerians have never elected a female president, it was no surprise that her pitch to delegates was to make history and make her the first.

“I’m standing here as Esther in the hands of Mordecai. It’s in your hands to vote for me and make history,” she said in a passionate appeal to delegates before voting commenced. Her message got through to only one delegate that voted for her, but at least that’s one more than the zero votes that aspirants like Fayose and Dele Momodu got.

Death to zoning

Much has been made about if Nigeria’s next president should come from the north or south. The Southern Governors’ Forum (SGF) even threatened that whichever party elects a northerner will lose at the polls. It’s an issue that threatened to tear the PDP apart until the party decided to play it safe and make the contest open to whoever can ~~spend the most money~~ win.

Many Nigerians have kicked against the idea of a northerner, like Atiku, replacing another northerner (Buhari) after eight years, but that’s a real possibility now. Because it’s not a properly documented arrangement, it was only a matter of time before zoning met its end at the presidential level. The lesson here is to document everything.

EFCC is always watching

A lot has been made about how presidential primaries can become a money-making venture for delegates that elect the candidates. Delegates use the opportunity to cash out and take dollars from every aspirant willing to part with their money in exchange for votes. It was no surprise then that agents of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) were seen sniffing around at the PDP’s convention.

No one (that we know of) was arrested, but the message is clear that the eagle is always watching, even if only for the camera.

APC boxed into a tight corner

The PDP and the All Progressives Congress (APC) have been playing a game of cat and mouse trying to see the candidate that the other one elects for the 2023 presidential election. With Atiku’s victory, the APC has one week to think long and hard about who they have in their lineup of aspirants to battle against an election veteran who clocked over 12 million votes in the 2019 election.

Contrary to Fayose’s crank theory, Buhari won’t be on the ballot, so the APC needs someone that can battle for the huge voting figures from the north. While that may automatically mean electing a northern candidate, good luck explaining that to southerners in the party who have been expecting the ticket to be zoned to the south. We can think of one southerner in particular who wants to be rewarded with a lifetime ambition. Should be fun when the convention happens between June 6th and June 8th 2022.

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The 2023 general elections are starting to reach the stage where the political heavyweights will be separated from the pretenders, with political parties electing their candidates in primary elections nationwide.

The presidential ticket is without a doubt the biggest prize, and political parties have to elect their candidates by June 3rd 2022.

How the presidential candidates are decided

There are three ways political parties nominate candidates: direct, indirect or by consensus.

Direct primaries allow all card-carrying members of a party to vote for the candidate in an election. It’s like an in-house version of the general elections. But this process is rarely used by political parties in Nigeria.

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The consensus process involves the party adopting a candidate without an actual election. This candidate is anointed above others eyeing the ticket, but the other aspirants must sign a written consent and endorse the candidate.

Unlike direct primaries, indirect primaries don’t allow every card-carrying member of a party to vote. Instead, that task falls to a group known as delegates.

Who are these delegates?

In the Nigerian political system, there are two types of delegates: ad hoc delegates and statutory delegates.

Statutory delegates are usually party members who are current or former occupants of elective legislative and executive positions, as well as political appointees and certain elected officials of the party. These delegates are very powerful, but they were — apparently — mistakenly left out of the drafting of the new Electoral Amendment Act signed in 2022.

Lawmakers have sent an amendment bill to President Buhari to correct this, but he hasn’t signed it yet. As it stands, statutory delegates won’t be involved in the 2023 process.

And now to the main star of the show, the ad hoc delegates.

Ad hoc delegates are those that are elected at the local government level of a party to, for example, vote for a presidential candidate at a national convention. Think of it like if each household elected a representative to help them vote on election day.

These delegates are elected at congresses organised by the party. Each party is free to define the rules for the number of delegates that can vote for its candidates. For example, the All Progressives Congress (APC) elects three delegates from each of Nigeria’s 774 local government areas as well as six area councils of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). This leaves the party with 2,340 delegates to elect its presidential candidate.

The 2022 Electoral Act has crowned ad hoc delegates as the stars of the 2023 general elections.

What’s a delegate worth?

The conversation around delegates usually revolves around how much money they can finesse out of aspirants trying to curry their favour to win tickets. They’re right in the middle of the dollar rain that descends on the political scene when it’s election time.

It’s not so far-fetched to see why this is so. Delegates are the kingmakers in Nigeria. Their real worth is that they’re really the ones who’ll determine Nigeria’s next president before millions of Nigerians can even vote in 2023.

So, if you know anyone that is a delegate, hail them properly. All power belongs to them…for now.

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Like most things in Nigerian politics, the presidential seat has been the exclusive plaything of one gender. Since the country’s independence from colonial rule in 1960, the top seat has been warmed only by men.

Nigerian women haven’t even made a lot of appearances on the ballot, but this has been changing in recent elections. In 2019, a record-breaking six women made it to the ballot for the presidential election contested by 73 candidates.

For the 2023 presidential election, the women listed below fancy their chances at the polls; they just have to win their party’s primary elections first.

Khadijah Okunnu-Lamidi

Khadijah Okunnu-Lamidi was the first woman to declare her interest in the 2023 presidential election. The 38-year-old media personality is running on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

Benedicta Egbo

Benedicta Egbo is a Professor of Education based in Canada who has also thrown her hat in the ring for the 2023 presidential election. She believes she’s capable of cleaning up the mess made by past presidents. She also thinks Nigerians deserve an apology from those leaders. We agree.

Uju Ohanenye

Uju Ohanenye is running on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), where nomination forms cost an arm and a leg. She’s described herself as an advocate for the commoners and occasionally attacked the male leaders that have failed the country. “I want to make a difference The men have lost it, so I’m on board because Nigerians need a mother,” the businesswoman said in an interview.

Ify Oforkansi

Ify Oforkansi has a nine-point agenda for Nigeria if she becomes the country’s first female president. The agenda of the aspirant of the African Democratic Party (ADP) focuses on education, power reform, unemployment, insecurity and mechanised agriculture.

Caro Nwosu

Caro Nwosu is an aspirant running on the platform of the African Action Congress (AAC) and preaching unity as the antidote to Nigeria’s problems. The aspirant believes she can unlock Nigeria’s potential and make the country an African superpower.

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Ibinabo Joy Dokubo

Ibinabo Joy Dokubo wants to build on APC’s legacy if she wins the party’s ticket to contest at the polls in 2023. Education and security are top on the list of her priorities if she’s elected president.

Angela Johnson

Angela Johnson is confident she’ll become Nigeria’s first female president because, apparently, God has spoken to her and assured her of victory. The aspirant has promised to prioritise job creation for the youth and also focus on empowering women.

Patience Ndidi Key

If she becomes Nigeria’s first female president, Patience Ndidi Key plans to overhaul the country. The aspirant of the People’s Redemption Party (PRP) was inspired to run due to the country’s economic and security challenges. Her three-point agenda is based on peace, equity, and wealth creation.

Olivia Diana Teriela

There’s very little known about Olivia Diana Teriela but she’s bought the nomination forms of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to get on the ballot for the 2023 presidential election.

Nonye Ezeanyaeche

Nonye Ezeanyaeche raised quite a few eyebrows when she announced her intention to contest the 2023 presidential election. The widespread interest in her aspiration is down to the fact that she’s 102 years old. If she wins, she’d not only become Nigeria’s first female president but the country’s oldest leader by more than 20 years. She believes she can handle the demands of the job because, in her own words, “Energy is God-given.”

Unlike in 2019 when there were dozens of political parties nominating candidates, only 18 parties are allowed to contest in 2023. This means it’s unlikely the number of women that will make it to the ballot will surpass the last election.

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