Twenty-one serving and former governors are among the army of aspirants jostling to replace President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.
The list cut across two major political parties-the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Cumulatively, 34 aspirants, 17 each from the two major parties, have indicated interest and bought the expression and nomination forms to contest for the country’s highest position.
Two out of the 17 aspirants that picked the PDP’s presidential forms, failed to make it to the primaries, having been disqualified by the Senator David Mark-led screening committee, bringing the number of contestants in the opposition party to 15.
The number of aspirants in the ruling party rose to 17 on Friday as more presidential hopefuls joined the race with analysts predicting that the number could swell by the time the window for the sale of forms extension closes on Tuesday.
21st CENTURY CHRONICLE reports that out of the 21 serving and former governors in the race, 12 are in APC, while the PDP has eight.
The serving governors in APC who are in the race include Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, Muhammad Badaru of Jigawa State, David Umahi of Ebonyi State and Yahaya Bello of Kogi State.
In APC, the former governors include Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, , Godswill Akpabio, Rochas Okorocha, Orji Kalu, Ibikunle Amosun, Chris Ngige and Ogbonaya Onu, Rotimi Amaechi and Ahmad Sani Yarima.
In the PDP, the former governors in the race were former vice president, Atiku Abubakar; former Senate President, Bukola Saraki; former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, and former governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose.
The serving governors include Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, Emmanuel Udom of Akwa Ibom State, Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State and Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State.
While those in the PDP were already cleared for primaries, their APC counterparts, according to the party’s schedule of activities, would face the screening committee as from May 10 ahead of its Special Convention which would held from the 30th of May to 1st June, 2020.
The nation’s electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Thursday insisted its timetable and schedule of activities released in February for the 2023 General Election remained.
The commission had slated April 4 to June 3 for the election of flag bearers of all political parties for the elections.
The commission reiterated that the deadline is firm and fixed.
