On Wednesday, at the International Conference Center (ICC), Abuja, Nigeria former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar formally declared his intention to throw his hat into the ring in the 2023 presidential election.
This will be the 6th time the 75-year old Adamawa-born politician will be contesting for the highest political office in the country.
While declaring his intention to contest in the 2023 elections under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku said that Nigeria is a sinking ship that must be rescued urgently.
Mr Atiku stated that the 2023 elections will not be like the usual elections but a referendum to decide whether Nigerians want greatness or continuous destruction; a choice between two paths – the path of unity and progress or the path of division and backwardness
According to him, he will focus on 5 key areas: the unity of Nigeria, security, economy, education, and devolving more resources and powers to the federating units.
While Nigerians gear up for the 2023 general elections and decide who among the contestants for the presidential seat they will give their mandate to, let’s take a look at how Mr Atiku fared the previous times he has declared to run for the presidency.
The first time Atiku declared intention for the presidential position was in 1993. He contested in the Social Democratic Party (SDP) primaries against MKO Abiola and Gana Kingibe but he could not secure the party’s ticket as he came third in the contest. He polled 2,066 votes, while Abiola and Kinigbe polled 3,617 and 3,255 votes, respectively.
In 2007, Atiku tried again but under the Action Congress (AC) party. This time, he scaled through the party primaries and polled a total of 2.64 million votes in the presidential election. He came third in the race.
He contested again in 2011 under the PDP. The PDP primaries were held in January that year and Atiku was overwhelmingly defeated as he secured only 805 votes, while the winner, Goodluck Jonathan polled 3,542 votes.
In February 2014, Mr Atiku dumped the PDP and decamped to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and contested under the APC in 2015. He however could not win the party’s ticket. He got only 954 votes and came third.
Mr Atiku returned to the PDP in 2017. In 2018 when the party’s primaries were held, he polled 1,532 votes and clinched the party’s ticket for the 2019 Presidential election.
However, he lost the general election in 2019. He polled a total of 11.26 million votes and won in 17 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) but it was not enough to earn the highest spot.
Two questions are in his way as he starts his 6th bid, will he win his party ticket and can he finally poll enough of the votes to earn the highest office in the land come 2023?
Other Contenders for PDP Ticket
As of today, there are other members of PDP who have either declared their interest in the party’s ticket for the 2023 presidential race or are expected to do so.
One of them is Aminu Tambuwal, the Governor of Sokoto state. Mr Tambuwal who served the country as the Speaker of the House of Representatives between 2011-2015 declared his intention to run for the presidency under the PDP in the 2023 elections. He made his declaration on January 31, 2022.
The former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi has declared his ambition to earn the party’s ticket for the presidential election. He had earlier stated his interest on February 1, 2022, via his official Twitter handle.
On Tuesday, 24th March, he formally announced that he will be contesting for the highest seat of the land as President of Nigeria. He made this public declaration in Anambra state during a meeting with traditional rulers in the state capital.
Bukola Saraki also declared his intention to contest for president in the 2023 polls on the ticket of the PDP. According to a report, the former Governor of Kwara State and immediate past President of the Senate made his intention known on January 26, 2022, via his Facebook page.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and publisher of Ovation International, Dele Momodu also declared his intention on January 16.
Anyim Pius Anyim, also a former Senate President and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) is not left out. He disclosed his intention on January 7, 2022.
Sam Ohuabunwa, the immediate past President of the Nigerian Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, declared his intention to run for the highest political office in the country in the 2023 general elections on the platform of the PDP. He stated this at a press conference in Abuja, last year November.
Bala Mohammed, Bauchi State Governor also has his eyes on the party’s ticket for the 2023 presidential election. On July 12 last year, the Governor stated that he has the approval of the PDP in his state to contest for the presidential post come 2023.
On October 5, 2021, Doyin Okupe, a former Presidential spokesperson, also formally declared his intention to contest the 2023 presidential polls on the platform of the PDP.
In the coming days, it is hoped that much more than a declaration of intention, their interest in the highest office of the land will come with clear plans of how to reposition the country for the better.