FORMER Vice President Atiku Abubakar will make another attempt to become Nigeria’s President in the 2023 general elections after clinching the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential ticket on May 28 at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja.

Atiku won the presidential primary election with 371 votes.

Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, was runner-up with 237 votes. A former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, came third with 70 votes.

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Akwa Ibom State governor, Emmanuel Udom, polled 38 votes, while Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed, got 20 votes.

A total of 762 votes were cast in the primary election. There were 12 void votes.

Atiku was seen as one of the leading aspirants in the build-up to the PDP presidential primary and his chances received a major boost after Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal, stepped down for him just before the commencement of voting.

Tambuwal, another leading aspirant, instructed his supporters to vote for Atiku.

Tambuwal was the only aspirant from the North-West, which had the largest number of votes in the primary election with 193 delegates.

Atiku was also the presidential flagbearer of the PDP in the 2019 general election after winning the primary election in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

He polled 1,532 votes to beat 11 other aspirants to the PDP presidential ticket in the primary for the 2019 general election.

But Atiku lost to incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the presidential election.

Sixth time lucky?

The 2023 election will be Atiku’s sixth attempt in his quest to become Nigeria’s President.

He had unsuccessfully contested five times for the Office of the President, in 1993, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019.

In 1993, he contested the Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential primaries but lost the party’s ticket to Moshood Abiola (MKO), who went ahead to win the presidential election that was cancelled by the military administration headed by Ibrahim Babangida, a General.

Atiku was the presidential candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the 2007 presidential election, which was won by the late Umaru Yar’Adua of the PDP.

Again, he attempted to become Nigeria’s President in 2011 when he contested the presidential primaries of the PDP but lost to incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan.

Having joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2014, Atiku contested the party’s presidential primaries for the 2015 general elections. However, he lost to Muhammadu Buhari, who went ahead to win in the general election to become Nigeria’s President.

Atiku returned to the PDP in 2017, in time to emerge the party’s presidential candidate in the 2019 general elections. But, again, he lost to Buhari, the incumbent.

The former vice president will be hoping for a better fortune as he gets set to make a sixth attempt in 2023.