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Abubakar Will Lead Main Nigerian Opposition Into Next Election

  • West African nation will hold national elections in February
  • OPEC member is struggling to move past severe 2020 recession
Atiku Abubakar

Atiku Abubakar

Photographer: Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP/Getty Images
Updated on

Nigeria’s main opposition Peoples Democratic Party chose former vice-president Atiku Abubakar as its candidate for February’s national election, an early step in a long campaign in the OPEC member country.

The next president will need to grapple with persistent inflation, slow growth, and high unemployment as Africa’s largest economy struggles to recover from its worse recession in four decades in 2020. Deadly conflicts with separatists and Islamic insurgents grind on as well.