{"id":1597,"date":"2023-03-18T14:54:35","date_gmt":"2023-03-18T14:54:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/greycontinent.com\/?p=1597"},"modified":"2023-03-18T14:54:37","modified_gmt":"2023-03-18T14:54:37","slug":"how-old-or-young-were-the-nigerian-presidential-candidates-where-were-the-women-and-who-has-a-phd-what-the-data-shows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/home-5016083355.webspace-host.com\/wordpress\/2023\/03\/18\/how-old-or-young-were-the-nigerian-presidential-candidates-where-were-the-women-and-who-has-a-phd-what-the-data-shows\/","title":{"rendered":"How old \u2013 or young \u2013 were the Nigerian Presidential candidates? Where were the women? And who has a PhD? What the data shows…"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At the end of 2022, Inec published the final list<\/a> of candidates for the presidency and for each seat in the senate and the house of representatives. It includes the names of the candidates nominated by their political parties, their gender, age and educational qualifications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are far fewer parties on the ballot this time around. In 2019, 73 political parties<\/a> fielded candidates for the presidency. Only 18 parties<\/a> are contesting the 2023 presidential election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The deregistration of political parties was the main reason for the reduced number, said Dr Otive Igbuzor. He\u2019s the executive director of the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development<\/a>, a think tank based in Abuja, Nigeria\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2020, Inec delisted 74 political parties<\/a> for their poor showing in the 2019 elections. These parties either failed to win<\/a> any election, failed to win up to 25% of the votes in at least one state in the presidential election, or failed to win up to 25% of the votes in any local government area in the governorship elections. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The supreme court upheld<\/a> the commission\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe lower number will make voting easier,\u201d Igbuzor said. \u201cIn 2019, the ballot paper was so long that it was difficult for people to find the logo of their preferred party while voting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt also made vote collation more laborious. Imagine having to count votes for dozens of parties, many of which have just one or two votes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inec data also shows<\/a> that there were more senate<\/a> and house of representatives candidates in 2019<\/a> than there are in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take the senate, where in 2019, political parties fielded 1,860 candidates<\/a> for the 109 seats. In 2023, just 1,100<\/a> will be on the ballot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The age question in the election<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

President Muhammadu Buhari will be 80 when he leaves office in May 2023. He was 72 when he was first inaugurated in May 2015<\/a>. His two terms have been punctuated by trips<\/a> to see doctors in London. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Critics say<\/a> Buhari\u2019s administration has been badly affected by his age and health. This has made age an issue in 2023. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two leading political parties \u2013 the All Progressives Congress<\/a> (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party<\/a> (PDP) \u2013 have the oldest presidential candidates<\/a>. Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the APC is 70, and the PDP\u2019s Atiku Abubakar is 75.  So there\u2019s a strong possibility that Nigeria could elect a septuagenarian \u2013 a person in their seventies \u2013 president in 2023, as it did in 2015 and 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other candidates with a chance of winning<\/a> the presidency are 61-year-old Peter Obi of the Labour Party<\/a> and 66-year-old Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party<\/a> (NNPP).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ages of the 14 other presidential candidates range from 38 to 68. There are 18 candidates<\/a> in all. Their average age is 57.4 (and their median age<\/a>, if you are interested, is 59). The average age of their running mates is 51.7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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