2023 election: Buhari arrives Lagos for APC rally

The President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, has arrived in Lagos State a few days before the presidential election. 

Buhari arrived at Nigeria’s economic hub, Lagos, to attend the final leg of the All Progressives Congress(APC) presidential campaign rally.

The Leonardo AW139 helicopter conveying Buhari from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport touched down at the National Stadium at 2:35 pm, after which he was conveyed to the 25,000-seater Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, where the rally was taking place. 

Buhari showed up at the Lagos campaign to support the APC presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and his running mate, Kashim Shettima.

A former Governor of Lagos from 1999 to 2007, Tinubu, emerged as the APC presidential candidate after scoring the highest number of votes among 23 aspirants in the Party’s primary elections in June 2022.

A month later, he revealed his running mate, Kashim Shettima, a former Governor of Borno State, northeast Nigeria.

The Lagos rally becomes Buhari’s 10th appearance since the APC campaign flagged off in Plateau State on November 15th, 2022.

So far, he has visited Sokoto, Katsina, Imo, Nasarawa, Adamawa, Bauchi, Yobe, Gombe, Plateau and Lagos states.

Tuesday’s rally comes one day to the deadline approved by the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) for all candidates to conclude their campaigns.

It also comes four days to the Presidential and National Assembly elections held on Saturday, February 25th, 2023.

18 presidential candidates will appear on the ballot for Saturday’s election.

However, the majority of Nigerians recognise only four of those candidates.

They include the APC’s Bola Tinubu, the Peoples Democratic Party’s Atiku Abubakar, the Labour Party’s Peter Obi and a former Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso, who is contesting on the New Nigeria Peoples Party ticket.

In the past 96 days of campaign, all four candidates have expressed their belief to clinch the Presidency and lead Africa’s most populous state.

Mindful of the issues that have dominated the Nigerian psyche, Tinubu, Atiku, Obi and Kwankwaso have all promised to revive the struggling economy, fight widespread insecurity and uproot endemic corruption.