BY TheCable
The D-Day has come. The All Progressives Congress (APC) will pick its presidential candidate on Wednesday/Thursday in one of the most anticipated political events in Nigeria in recent times. The biggest opposition party in Nigeria’s history has a fair chance of defeating the PDP in the February 2015 elections, which means contests for the party’s tickets are more competitive than ever.
Of the five aspirants jostling for its presidential ticket, two are considered to have realistic chances ─ Atiku Abubakar, former vice-president, and Muhammadu Buhari, former military head of state. It is going to be a tight battle, and the difference between the winner and the runner-up will be a few hundred votes, TheCable Verdict 2015 Panel has predicted. In all, 8,000 delegates from the 36 states and FCT will vote at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos. The winner is expected to be announced early Thursday morning.
Here is TheCable’s lowdown on the aspirants. Watch out for the odds.
| Age | 68 |
| Birthday | November 25 |
| State | Adamawa |
| Education | Diploma in Hygiene, Diploma in Law |
| Public service career | Retired as Deputy Director of Customs & Excise |
| Political career | Vice-President (1999-2007) |
| Electoral failures | Anti-graft war and infrastructural development |
| Electoral successes | 1999 Adamawa governorship election |
| Campaign promises | 2007 presidential election, 2011 presidential primary |
| Support base | Non-APC controlled states |
| Social media | 185,000 followers on twitter; blogger |
| Quotable quote | “Our country’s educational institutions are clearly not providing quality learning. Our teachers need to be taught” |
| TheCable odds | 8/10 to win |
| Age | 71 |
| Birthday | December 17 |
| State | Katsina |
| Education | Military training in Kaduna as well as in UK, India and US |
| Public service career | Retired as a major general; former minister of petroleum; former military head of state; former military governor of north-eastern state; former executive chairman of PTF |
| Political career | Nil |
| Electoral failures | 2003, 2007, 2011 presidential elections |
| Electoral successes | Nil |
| Campaign promises | Anti-graft war, value reorientation and security |
| Support base | APC-controlled states and core North |
| Social media | 145,000 likes on Facebook |
| Quotable quote | “This generation of Nigeria and indeed future generations have no other country than Nigeria. We shall remain here and salvage it together.” |
| TheCable odds | 9/10 |
| Age | 58 |
| Birthday | October 21 |
| State | Kano |
| Education | HND, Kaduna Polytechnic; post-graduate studies, UK |
| Public service career | Kano civil service; Federal minister of defence, 2003. |
| Political career | Deputy speaker of the house of representatives (1992/93); governor, Kano state (1999-2003, 2011 to present), |
| Electoral failures | 2003 Kano gubernatorial election |
| Electoral successes | 1992 house of reps; 1999 and 2011 Kano governorship |
| Campaign promises | To end corruption and bad governance |
| Support base |
Kano |
| Social media | 12,458 likes on Facebook |
| Quotable Quote | “We don’t hate Jonathan. He could be a good man, but his ideas are bad.” |
| TheCable Odds | 1/50 to win |
| Age | 52 |
| Birthday | September 22 |
| State | Imo |
| Education | Advanced diploma in public administration, University of Jos |
| Public service career | Nil |
| Political career | Governor, Imo state (2011 till date) |
| Electoral failures | 1999 PDP Imo gubernatorial primary election; 2003 ANPP presidential primary; 2007 PDP presidential primary |
| Electoral successes | 2011 Imo governorship election |
| Campaign promises | To “rescue” Nigeria |
| Support base | Imo |
| Social media | 108,431 likes on Facebook |
| Quotable quote | “No nation is poor in terms of human and material resources, the problem has always been about leadership” |
| TheCable odds | 2/100 to win |
| Age | 52 |
| Birthday | May 1 |
| State | Niger |
| Education | B. Pharm (Ife) |
| Public service career | Nil |
| Political career | Nil |
| Electoral failures | Nil |
| Electoral successes | Nil |
| Campaign promises | Working big ideas and uniting the country |
| States in support | Nil |
| Social media | 2,881 followers on Twitter; 17,016 likes on Facebook |
| Quotable quote | “If a president behaves like a responsible father would behave in his own house, then unity would be achieved” |
| TheCable odds | 1/1000 to win |
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