President Tinubu launches campaign for second term in Nigeria — Deutsche Welle

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has officially launched his campaign for re-election to a second term at a rally in Kaduna State in the country’s northwest. The next presidential election in Africa’s most populous country is due to take place in January 2027.

As Deutsche Welle reports, Tinubu promised citizens a better future. At the rally, he also spoke of prosperity, stability, growth, recovery and opportunities for the country.

Economic difficulties

The campaign will take place amid a cost-of-living crisis and security problems. After coming to power in 2023, Tinubu ended long-standing fuel subsidies, which sparked outrage and contributed to inflation in Nigeria.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

The president rejected criticism of his economic policy, placing responsibility for hunger and poverty on political opponents. Earlier this month, Tinubu acknowledged the country’s economic problems but said his administration’s reforms had not created economic weaknesses, but were countering them. Afterwards, the government announced the possible introduction of fuel price caps.

Security and rivals

Security will also be one of the key issues in the election. Nigeria is facing armed bandits and kidnappings, as well as a long-running jihadist insurgency that began with the Boko Haram uprising in 2009. On Friday, armed attackers killed at least 20 people in an attack on a village in the country’s northeast.

Tinubu’s likely main rivals are named as former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former state governor Peter Obi. In the 2023 election, Tinubu received less than 36.6% of valid votes, Abubakar received 29%, and Obi received 25.4%.