The imminent changes in Nigeria, with the upcoming 2023 general elections, will make the political space in Nigeria tenser in 2022.
Due to the activities of their presidential candidates, the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Labour Party (LP) made punchlines in Nigeria’s political milieu in 2022. Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is the APC presidential Candidate; Atiku Abubakar is for the PDP, while Peter Obi is for the LP.
Asiwaju Tinubu declared interest in joining the 2023 presidential race under the APC when the party opened the floor for interested candidates on Monday, January 10. His meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari and declaration of his interest at the presidential villa dominated the media space.
Another trending political event in the country was Tinubu’s reference to Ogun State governor Dapo Abiodun as ‘Eleyi’ in Abeokuta during his meeting with the party’s delegates in the state capital.
At the event, Nigerians hear from the horse’s mouth on how Yemi Osinbajo, emerged as President Buhari’s running mate in 2023. Tinubu also talked about how he has been supporting and sponsoring politicians for over 20 years, including Dapo Abiodun, the governor of Osun State, whom he referred to as “eleyi” (This one) and declaring that “emi lokan” (it is my turn)—suggesting that it is time for them to support him as well.
APC N100m tag price for expression of interest and nomination form for presidential candidate On Wednesday, April 20, the ruling party announced the price of its expression of interest and nomination form for presidential candidates as N100 million at an event attended by President Buhari. The announcement shocked many Nigerians and was greeted with criticism. However, political pundits have said that the APC forms have always been the highest since its emergence in 2015.
The special convention of the ruling party and its presidential primary election is one political event in 2022 that looked like a general election as many Nigerians are awake and eager to see the final result. One of the striking moments in the event is the viral video of an old woman, Alhaja Shifau Ayinla Alanamu, who stayed awake all night, doing tasbih (a form of Islamic prayer) for Tinubu to emerge as the APC candidate.
Although it appeared that Alanamu’s granddaughter posted the video on social media to laugh at the grandma, it turned out to be a blessing, as she was one of the people the APC candidate met after clinching the party’s ticket. PDP presidential primaries The presidential primary of the leading opposition party, PDP, was another political event in 2022 that dominated the country’s political space.
The aftermath of the primary has polarized the party, made its national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, the most controversial politician in 2023 while Nyesom Wike and 4 other governors have vowed not to support Atiku Abubakar, the party’s presidential candidate until Ayu resigns.
Wike’s media chart One of the biggest political events in 2022 was Rivers state governor Nyesom Wike’s media chat in September. In it, he talked about how Ayu worked against him during the PDP primary and made some corruption allegations against the PDP chairman.
The media chat, which lasted for over an hour, became a significant event as it shed more light on why some PDP governors have declined to support Atiku Abubakar, the party’s presidential candidate.
Peter Obi joins Labour Party (LP) In his quest to achieve his presidential ambition, Peter Obi, a former vice presidential candidate of the PDP in the 2019 election, left the leading opposition to join the Labour Party, and this made a statement in Nigerian politics.
Although Labour Party is criticised to be a party without structure, Obi’s emergence as its presidential candidate has made the party the third force Nigerians seem to be yearning for. Kwankwaso formed NNPP The formation of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) by the former governor of Kano state, Rabiu Kwankwaso is another political event that cannot be overruled in the 2023 political events.
Kwankwaso is a two-term governor and a minister under the PDP. However, like Peter Obi and others who could not secure the party’s presidential ticket, have left the leading opposition.
AriseTV Town Hall Meeting One of the political events that shaped 2022 in Nigeria is the AriseTV presidential town hall meeting, where presidential candidates and their allies met and practically attack each other.
Although APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu and his counterpart in the PDP, Atiku Abubakar were absent at the first series of the town hall meeting, Kwankwaso, Obi, and Atiku’s running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa, were present.
The confrontation between Obi and Senator Dino Melaye, a member of the PDP team at the meeting, as well as Okowa’s shutting up LP and NNPP candidates because they were members of the PDP before leaving the party because of their presidential aspirations cannot be overlooked. Ekiti and Osun elections.
The governorship elections in Osun and Ekiti states were significant political events in 2023 that presented a template for the 2023 election in Nigeria. While the APC retained Ekiti in the election, it lost to the PDP in Osun. The two states’ elections have been adjudged to be free and fair.
