Ngozi NwaubaniNigerians will be deciding on their next president in 2023, though we haven’t sat down to ask ourselves if democracy is still the system of government we need. So, as Nigerians plan to crown a new king, sorry president, many aspirants have shown their interest in the position of power in the 2023 elections.
Who will be Nigeria’s Next President?
According to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended for 2018, the criteria for becoming president is;
- be a citizen of Nigeria
- be aged 35 and above
- have at least secondary school certificate or equivalent
- belong to a political party
According to these criteria, it seems easy to become a president in Nigeria, but that is not the case. It is easier for water to pass Garri than for the right candidate (who isn’t a political godfather) to become the president of Nigeria. But we are going to give you the list of presidential aspirants anyway.
1. Asiwaju Bola Tinubu
Age: 69 Years (born 29 March 1952)
Religion: Islam
State of Origin: Lagos (*born in Osun State)
Last political position held: Governor of Lagos State (1999-2007)
Current Political Party: All Progressives Congress (APC)
Occupation: Politics
Profession: Accounting
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu formally visited President Buhari in Aso Rock to personally inform him about his political ambition. Bola Tinubu was the former governor of Lagos State and is still the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress.
But who is this 69-year-old man that is vying for your votes?
He has been a Nigerian politician since 1992 under the Social Democratic Party of Nigeria (SDP). Tinubu was also once a member of the house of Senate representing the Lagos West.
He has also occupied another position from power, the Senatorial seat for Lagos West constituency in the 1993 election, which was annulled.
Bola Tinubu was in exile alongside other pro-democratic politicians who acted with the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO). It did not please the military dictator at the time, Sani Abacha. Tinubu had to flee first to the Benin Republic, then to the UK, in 1994. Eventually, Sani Abacha died in 1998, ushering in the transition to civilian rule Nigeria has enjoyed since 1999.
He has an accounting degree from the Chicago State University in 1979. Also, Tinubu founded The Nation Newspaper on the 31st of July 2006 in Lagos State. The paper is published daily in Lagos, Nigeria.
2. Anyim Pius Anyim
Age: 60 years (19 February 1961)
Religion: Christianity
State of Origin: Ebonyi State
Last Political Party held: Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) (2011-2015)
Current Political Party: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
Occupation: Politics
Profession: Lawyer
The former Senate President and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim, publicly announced his intention to succeed the incumbent President.
Anyim was the first to declare his ambition on the podium of the Peoples Democratic Party.
His case for zoning the presidency to the region for equity and fairness
He began his political career in 1998 by joining the United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP), winning a Senate election.
He later joined the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), national Senator, on the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) platform in 1999 for the Ebonyi South constituency of Ebonyi State. He was appointed Senate President in August 2000.
In June 2002, he had a beef with President Olusegun Obasanjo after he led an attempt to impeach him. He did not seek re-election in 2003 because he knew that he would lose under Obasanjo’s watch.
Ever since then, it’s been a little bit of a rollercoaster. He challenged his party in Ebonyi State, had his private house in Abuja partially pulled down as punishment.
The conflict was chaotic; it left an uneasy relationship between Anyim and the incumbent Governor of Ebonyi State, Martin Elechi. In May 2011, Pius Anyim was appointed as Secretary to the Government.
3. David Umahi
Age: 58 years (25 July 1963)
Religion: Christianity
State of Origin: Ebonyi State
Last political position held: Incumbent Governor of Ebonyi State
Current Political Party: All Progressives Congress (APC)
Occupation: Politics
Profession: Civil Engineering
Current Ebonyi State Governor, Chief David Umahi, also jumped on the presidential ambition after Tinubu.
He began his engineering career with companies SCC Nig. Ltd, Norman Engineering and Construction Nig. Ltd, before shifting into politics.
He became the Acting Chairman of Ebonyi State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) between 2007 and 2009. He was later elected the substantive State chairman of PDP in 2009, which he held till 2011.
Dave Umahi became the Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State on 29th May 2011 for four years ending in 2015. On April 11, 2015, he contested for and won the election as the governor of Ebonyi State and the second term in 2019.
4. Orji Uzor Kalu
Age: 61 years (21 April 1960)
Religion: Christianity
State of Origin: Abia State
Last political position held: Senator for Abia State
Current Political Party: All Progressives Congress (APC)
Occupation: Politics
Profession: Business
Orji Uzor Kalu is the founder of Slok Holding, a West African conglomerate with interests in shipping, banking, oil trading, manufacturing, and the media. He started business at age 19 after being expelled from a Nigerian university for spearheading a series of student riots.
He diversified into furniture manufacturing and transportation and became a millionaire by the time he was 20. In the early 80s, the Nigerian military government awarded him lucrative contracts to import and supply arms and ammunition to Nigeria’s military and defense forces.
He became the Governor of Abia State on the 29th of May, 1999. He served his state for eight-year, with his regime running till the 29th of May 2007.
Kalu has been convicted of corruption and embezzlement by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Congress but won the case.
5. Dele Momodu
Age: 61 years (16 May 1960)
Religion: Christianity
State of Origin: Oyo State
Last political position held: Nil
Current Political Party: People’s Democratic Party (PDP)
Occupation: Journalist
Profession: Business Philanthropist
Ayobamidele Abayomi Ojutelegan Ajani Momodu, also known as Dele Momodu, is a Nigerian journalist, publisher, polemicist, businessman, philanthropist, actor, and motivational speaker.
He is a graduate of the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife) in 1982. He earned a degree in Yoruba and a master’s degree in English Literature in 1988.
In May 1988, Momodu got his first job as Staff Writer with the African Concord magazine. He was transferred to Weekend Concord as a pioneer staff a year later. He was a prolific writer that made meaningful contributions to other influential publications.
In 1993, Momodu joined the Moshood Abiola Presidential Campaign Organisation; Momodu was arrested and detained at Alagbon Close in Lagos after the annulment of the June 12, Presidential election by General Ibrahim Babangida. He was severely punished for his views but was undeterred. He was to be arrested in 1995 and charged for treason by the Sani Abacha government. He went into exile for three years.
Momodu started Ovation International, the only bi-lingual magazine in Africa, in 1996 while still in exile. After the death of MKO Abiola in prison and subsequently, the death of Sani Abacha ended Dele Momodu’s exile.
6. Prof. Kingsley Moghalu
Age: 58 Years (29 March 1952)
Religion: Christianity
State of Origin: Osun State
Last political position held: Nil
Current Political Party: Young Progressive Party (YPP)
Occupation: Political Economist
Profession: Lawyer
Moghalu, who aspires to contest on the platform of the African Democratic Congress, was the presidential candidate of the Young Progressive Party in 2019.
He is the former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. He founded Sogato Strategies LLC, a global investment advisory firm, and the president of the Institute for Governance and Economic Transformation (IGET), a public policy think tank. He, like a lot of professors, has numerous accolades. Moghalu is a member of the Advisory Council of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF).
On 1 June 2021, he declared he would contest the Nigerian presidential election in 2023.
Moghalu’s tenure at the CBN included the introduction of non-interest (Islamic) banking. This policy generated strong political controversy. Moghalu defended the decision to introduce Islamic banking, explaining that this was one of several measures to expand financial inclusion and not, as many Christians in a country with strong sectarian tensions erroneously believed, an Islamization agenda.
During his presidential campaign in February 2019, Wole Soyinka, the Nigerian-born Nobel Laureate, issued a strong endorsement of Kingsley Moghalu to be elected Nigeria’s president.
He was also endorsed by Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the Emir of Kano. Moghalu also received the strong endorsement of the Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi.
However, Moghalu ultimately lost the election to Buhari; we hope to see changes this year.
7. Khadijah Okunnu-Lamidi
Age: 39 Years (born 1983)
Religion: Islam
State of Origin: Lagos State
Last political position held: Nil
Current Political Party: Nil
Occupation: Entrepreneur
Profession: Public Relations
Khadijah Okunnu-Lamidi is a Nigerian media personality and daughter of former commissioner Lateef Olufemi Okunnu, SAN. Her mother is a successful businesswoman who hails from Ago-Owo. She is the founder of one of the top advertising agencies, Slice Media Solutions, Nigeria.
She is a member of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) and has been featured as one of the Top 50 Women in Marketing & Communication in Nigeria. Khadijah is known for her philanthropic and gender balance youth development advocacy.
She has co-founded some social impact initiatives, including Water Relief Nigeria, Help Our Youth (HOY), To Better Nigeria & Project: Bridge the Gap. Khadijah officially declared her interest in running for the Office of the President of Nigeria in the forthcoming 2023 general elections.
Part of her manifesto is to bring a better future for her country, Nigeria. She believed she had the undoubted power to get the youths together, which would lead to unleashing great potential in the country.
8. Chukwuka Monye
Age: 42 Years (born July 21, 1979)
Religion: Christianity
State of Origin: Delta State
Last political position held: Nil
Current Political Party: Nil
Occupation: Business Entrepreneur
Profession: Accounting
Chukwuka Monye hails from Onicha-Ugbo, for Aniocha north local government area of Delta state South-south Nigeria.
Chukwuka Monye is a renowned Nigerian businessman, business executive, and Nigerian 2023 Presidential aspirant. After declaring his interest in the Nigerian 2023 presidential race, he became famous. He is the Managing Director of Ciuci Consulting and also an administration specialist.
In addition, he is the Director-General of Delta Economic Summit Group. Chukwuka is also on the boards of some Nigerian companies such as House of Tara.
9. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar
Atiku is not new to the presidential race, and he recently declared his interest in running for president again in 2023.
More aspirants are expected to join the race ahead of the 2023 presidential elections. Other aspirants include the following:
| APC | PDP |
|---|---|
| Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State | Aminu Tambuwal |
| Rochas Okorocha | Sam Ohuabunwa |
| Sani Yerima | Doyin Okupe |
Current Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is also expected to join the race. We think there are four factors that might work in favour of Osinbajo over Tinubu and other presidential aspirants.
The Twitter ban was removed in time for presidential campaigns. This will be a competitive season for politics; we, the masses, just have to sit back and enjoy.
Afeez Azeez
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