
<p>By MacDonald Dzirutwe and Abraham Achirga</p>



<p>ABUJA, May 28 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Nigeria&#8217;s former vice president, veteran politician Atiku Abubakar, will run for president again next year after the main opposition party picked him as its candidate to stand in elections to succeed incumbent Muhammadu Buhari.</p>



<p>Abubakar, 75, lost to Buhari during the last election in 2019, which he claimed was rigged. But Buhari will not be on the ballot next year when the second of his two four-year terms comes to an end.</p>



<p>The People&#8217;s Democratic Party (PDP) party, which ruled Nigeria after military rule ended in 1999, was ousted from power by Buhari&#8217;s All Progressives Congress (APC) party in 2015. The PDP is vying for a return to governing Africa&#8217;s biggest economy.</p>



<p>Vote counting started late on Saturday and Abubakar garnered 371 votes, defeating his nearest rival, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, governor of oil-producing Rivers state, who received 237 votes.</p>



<p>In his acceptance speech, Abubakar reiterated his campaign promise to end insecurity in the country and revive its fragile economy, among other pledges, and promised to work with his opponents.</p>



<p>&#8220;I therefore pledge that I will restore unity. I also committed that I was going to deal decisively with the security situation in this country,&#8221; said Abubakar.</p>



<p>Abubakar has stood in six primaries, and next year&#8217;s vote will be his third presidential bid.</p>



<p>From 1999 to 2007, he was vice president to Olusegun Obasanjo, the first Nigerian leader after the end of decades of military rule.</p>



<p>Abubakar&#8217;s main opponent will be from the ruling APC party, which will choose its candidate at a special convention to be held from June 6-8. The APC postponed its presidential primary from Sunday after the electoral commission extended the deadline for political parties to choose their candidates.</p>



<p>Twenty-five candidates from the APC have registered to take part in the primaries. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and former Lagos state Governor and party heavyweight Bola Tinubu are seen as the ruling party&#8217;s front-runners.</p>



<p>Buhari&#8217;s successor faces several challenges, from insecurity marked by kidnappings for ransom in the northwest, an Islamist insurgency in the northeast, secessionist violence in the southeast, and a struggling economy and high inflation.</p>



<p>(Writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Sandra Maler and Jonathan Oatis)</p>


Nigeria’s opposition picks Abubakar to run for president again￼

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<p>Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari has pledged to increase the budget for the education sector by 50 per cent over the next two years as part of a joint agreement among heads of state at the ongoing Global Education Summit in London. Also, to bridge Nigeria’s infrastructure gap, the government says it needs 2.3 trillion dollars for the National Integrated Infrastructure Masterplan. Paul Alaje, Senior Economist at SPM Professionals  joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Nigeria pledges 50% increase in education budget in 2 years

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<p>Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva says the assent of the Petroleum Industry Bill by President Muhammadu Buhari will see an end to the controversial petrol subsidies. This comes as Nigeria celebrates its 50-year membership of the oil producer club, OPEC. Meanwhile, Nigerians are expecting the June inflation report this week and the second quarter GDP data later this month. Joining  CNBC Africa  for a discussion on how best Nigeria can achieve a sustainable growth trajectory post Covid-19 are; Andrew Nevin, Chief Economist at PwC Nigeria and Tilewa Adebajo,  CEO of CFG Advisory.</p>


How Nigeria’s economy can grow sustainably post-COVID

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<p>The Food and Agriculture Organisation has raised alarm over what it describes as worsening food security in Nigeria. In a separate report, the World bank says seven million Nigerians were pushed below the poverty line in 2020 while President Muhammadu Buhari has stated that poverty and unemployment has fueled Boko Haram insurgency in the country. Joining CNBC Africa to assess the state of food security in Nigeria is Kola Masha, Managing Director at Babban Gona.</p>


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How rising insecurity threatens food security in Nigeria

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<p>Oil prices have been on the rise this quarter with Brent reaching an over two-year high on Monday. Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari, flagged off the construction of the ten-billion-dollar Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas train 7 project that aims to harness the over 600 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves in the country. Uchenna Minnis, Managing Director of Howard Minnis Asset Management joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Nigeria bets on gas with  $10bn NLNG train 7 project

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<p>Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari says the nation has a problem of unemployment with lots of youths looking for what to eat while the level of poverty is almost unimaginable. In a televised interview with local media platform Arise news, on security, President Buhari noted that  the Boko Haram insurgency in Northern Nigeria was largely fueled by youth unemployment and poverty. Joining CNBC Africa to unpack the comments on the state of the economy are, Emmanuel Odiaka, CEO of ECOB Capital and Kayode Akindele, Partner at TIA Capital.</p>


Nigeria’s president says Boko Haram fuelled by unemployment

Nigeria’s president says Boko Haram fuelled by unemployment, poverty

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<p>Nigeria’s National Broadcasting Commission says it is unpatriotic for any broadcaster in Nigeria to continue to patronize Twitter as a source of information and User Generated Content. The broadcast regulator has called for broadcasting stations to suspend their twitter handles in compliance with the directive of the government to suspend the American microblogging platform. Barrister Valentine Utulu, Managing Partner at Legal Crest joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Nigeria’s broadcast regulator asks media houses to suspend twitter handles

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<p>The Nigerian government has suspended the operations of Twitter after the microblogging platform deleted a controversial post by President Muhammadu Buhari. Joining CNBC Africa to discuss the impact of this decision is Muda Yusuf, Director General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry.</p>


Nigeria Twitter ban: Weighing the impact

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<p>President Muhammadu Buhari has charged Nigeria’s security and intelligence agencies to expedite efforts towards the recovery of the 200 children kidnapped from an Islamic school in Niger State. Joining CNBC Africa for more is Onyekachi Adekoya, Managing Director of PR24 Nigeria.</p>


Buhari tasks security outfits to recover 200 kidnapped children

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<p>While addressing the Financing Africa Summit in Paris, Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari urged donor nations and international development finance institutions to grant debt relief to African countries. Meanwhile Nigeria’s Debt Management Office says the $6.18 billion external capital raising request by the President was already captured in the 2021 appropriation act. Egie Akpata, Director at UCML Capital joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Buhari urges debt relief for African countries

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<p>President Muhammadu Buhari is seeking the approval of the Nigerian Senate for a $6.18 billion debt raise. In a letter the president says the funds will be used to finance the 2021 budget deficit of 5.6 trillion naira. Paul Alaje, Senior Economist at SPM Professional joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Buhari seeks approval to raise $6.18bn

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<p>President Muhammadu Buhari says his government will utilize available resources to address banditry and ensure that they do not create havoc against access to farms and food production in the coming growing season. Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Statistics have reported decline in Nigeria’s food inflation from 22.95 per cent in March to 22.72 per cent in April. Emmanuel Ijewere, Chairman of Best Food Farms joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Best Food Farms: How to look at Nigeria’s April inflation numbers

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<p>Nigeria’s Presidential Economic Advisory Council has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to adopt a pricing regime to reflect the cost of petrol and remove subsidy on the commodity. Meanwhile, data from the Central Bank of Nigeria shows that Nigeria&#8217;s trade deficit rose to $2.5 billion as at January this year. As we await a flurry of economic data this month, Tilewa Adebajo, CEO of CFG Advisory joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Nigeria’s Economic Advisory Council calls for petrol subsidy removal

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<p>Nigerian lawmakers have called on the presidency to declare a state of emergency over rising incidents of insecurity across the country. Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari, in a virtual meeting with U.S. Secretary of State asked for the relocation of the Africa Command headquarters from Germany to the continent. Dennis Amachree, CEO of Zoom Lens Security Solutions joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Lawmakers call for state of emergency over insecurity in Nigeria

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<p>State governors under the aegis of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum are holding series of meetings to deliberate on the Executive Order 10 which was issued by President  Buhari for the implementation of financial autonomy for state Legislature.</p>


Rocky road as Nigeria’s judiciary seeks financial autonomy

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<p>Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed new Service Chiefs following public outcry over the state of insecurity in the country. Dennis Amachree, CEO of Zoomlens Security Solutions joins CNBC Africa to discuss what the overhaul in the leadership of Nigeria’s security forces could mean for the country’s fight against insecurity.</p>


Nigeria’s President Buhari appoints new service chiefs

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<p>Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari sent a congratulatory message to President Joe Biden on his inauguration as the 46th President of the United States. With diplomatic relations between both countries dating back to Nigeria’s Independence. CNBC Africa’s Kenneth Igbomor explores how the incoming Biden administration will impact relations between Nigeria and the United States with Matthias Chika Mordi, Adjunct Professor at SAIS John Hopkins.</p>


Muhammadu Buhari

Nigeria’s opposition picks Abubakar to run for president again

Nigeria pledges 50% increase in education budget in 2 years

How Nigeria’s economy can grow sustainably post-COVID

How rising insecurity threatens food security in Nigeria

Nigeria bets on gas with $10bn NLNG train 7 project

Nigeria’s president says Boko Haram fuelled by unemployment, poverty

Nigeria’s broadcast regulator asks media houses to suspend twitter handles

Nigeria Twitter ban: Weighing the impact

Buhari tasks security outfits to recover 200 kidnapped children

Buhari urges debt relief for African countries

Buhari seeks approval to raise $6.18bn

Best Food Farms: How to look at Nigeria’s April inflation numbers

Nigeria’s Economic Advisory Council calls for petrol subsidy removal

Lawmakers call for state of emergency over insecurity in Nigeria

Rocky road as Nigeria’s judiciary seeks financial autonomy

Nigeria’s President Buhari appoints new service chiefs

What the Biden administration means for Nigeria-US relations

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Muhammadu Buhari

Nigeria’s opposition picks Abubakar to run for president again￼

Nigeria pledges 50% increase in education budget in 2 years

How Nigeria’s economy can grow sustainably post-COVID

How rising insecurity threatens food security in Nigeria

Nigeria bets on gas with $10bn NLNG train 7 project

Nigeria’s president says Boko Haram fuelled by unemployment, poverty

Nigeria’s broadcast regulator asks media houses to suspend twitter handles

Nigeria Twitter ban: Weighing the impact

Buhari tasks security outfits to recover 200 kidnapped children

Buhari urges debt relief for African countries

Buhari seeks approval to raise $6.18bn

Best Food Farms: How to look at Nigeria’s April inflation numbers

Nigeria’s Economic Advisory Council calls for petrol subsidy removal

Lawmakers call for state of emergency over insecurity in Nigeria

Rocky road as Nigeria’s judiciary seeks financial autonomy

Nigeria’s President Buhari appoints new service chiefs

What the Biden administration means for Nigeria-US relations

News Tips

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Nigeria’s opposition picks Abubakar to run for president again