Nigeria: tensions within the ruling party for the presidential race

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has declared his candidacy for Nigeria's presidential election.

REUTERS - AFOLABI SOTUNDE

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

The race for the 2023 presidential election is creating friction within the majority party, the Progressive Congress (APC).

Current Vice President Yemi Osinbajo declared his candidacy a week ago, on April 11.

He therefore competes with the powerful Bola Tinubu, the former governor of Lagos, who has been showing his ambition to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari for several months now.

The battle to win the support of the majority party promises to be difficult for these two men. 

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With our correspondent in Lagos,

Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is considered by many to be Bola Tinubu's former protege.

When the latter was governor of Lagos between 1999 and 2007, Osinbajo served as the state's attorney general. 

The announcement of the candidacy of his candidacy therefore had the effect of a betrayal in the camp of Bola Tinubu, perceived until then as the favorite candidate within the Congress of Progressives, the presidential party.

Asked by journalists about the presidential ambitions of his former spiritual "

", Bola Tinubu replied curtly that he has " 

" in this election. 

The disavowal has been a hot topic in Nigeria for the past week and highlights the dissension within the presidential party, as senators, MPs and governor affiliated with the APC begin to line up behind their favorite candidate.

Everyone is working behind the scenes to try to win the favor of the party, which must soon decide on the terms of a possible primary to choose its official candidate. 

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