Nigeria Ruling Party Delays Primaries For 2023 Election

Abuja, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th May, 2022 ) :Nigeria's ruling party on Saturday postponed for a week a Primary vote to choose its candidate to replace President Muhammadu Buhari at next year's presidential election.

Buhari's All Progressives Congress party (APC) and the main opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP) were both scheduled this weekend to select their candidates to govern Africa's most populous country.

A day before its primaries were due to start, the APC announced in a statement that it had pushed its party primary back a week to June 6 through June 8.

The APC said the decision followed a ruling by electoral authorities to extend the deadline for the submission of candidates' Names.

The APC gave no further details, but the ruling party has been caught in fierce wrangling over who should run, with former Lagos governor Bola Tinubu and current vice president Yemi Osinbajo among the possibles.

Buhari has not endorsed any candidate to succeed him and some analysts expect him to attempt to find a consensus nominee to keep the APC's factions together ahead of the February 2023 presidential and parliamentary elections.

An alliance of smaller parties drawn together for Buhari's 2015 election win, the APC has often struggled to contain internal divisions.

"It clearly means the APC is going the consensus route, which requires more backroom dealing than the usual primaries," SBM Intelligence analyst Tunde Ajileye said of the ruling party delay.

"It also means the consensus candidate is one that many are not accepting easily." -