85 million Nigerians will finally go to the polls to chose from 73 candidates a new president after waiting impatiently for the election that was delayed for a week because of logistical “challenges,” just hours before polls were set to open.

 

Incumbent President,  Muhammadu Buhari, the flagbearer of All Progressives Congress (APC) is an ailing 76-year-old former military dictator who is seeking a second term after widely seen as failing to deliver on key issues of security, the economy and fighting corruption. He promises to to take Nigeria to “the next level”.

 

Buhari’s main challenger is 72-year-old former vice president and billionaire Atiku Abubakar and represents People's Democratic Party (PDP). He promises to “Make Nigeria Work Again” by applying his business success to governing Nigeria. 

 

Both Buhari and Abubakar have between them contested 9 times for the presidency and both are Muslims from the country’s north. 

 

Other key contestants are Omoyele Sowore of the African Action Congress (AAC) who wants to “take Nigeria back”; Kingsley Moghalu of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) who wants to “offer Nigeria visionary, purposeful, competent leadership to build our future” and Fela Durotoye of the Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN) who wants “to build a coalition of ideas around a strong ideology of a New Nigeria where things work and everyone is working to make things work”.

 

Nigeria’s 190 million people are evenly split between Muslims and Christians, who dominate in the country’s south.

 

The main issues at stake during this election are security, employment and anti-corruption.

Voting begins at at 08:00 (07:00 GMT) and polls due to close at 14:00 (13:00).