Nigeria President Bola Tinubu arrives for the closing session of the New Global Financial Pact Summit in Paris on June 23, 2023. [AFP]
Campaigning kicked off in Nigeria Wednesday, five months ahead of elections set to be dominated by crushing inflation and President Bola Tinubu's economic reforms.
Africa's most populous country is straining from years of economic turmoil and violence from armed groups -- though a divided opposition works in favour of Tinubu, seeking a second term.
"The economy is the biggest issue. That's the one thing that cuts across different parts of the country and it continues to affect security and development concerns," said Afolabi Adekaiyaoja, author of Nigeria politics newsletter The Bellwether.
Elected in 2023, Tinubu has used his first term to push through ambitious economic reforms, including ending a costly fuel subsidy that for years had indirectly suppressed prices throughout the economy.
Though praised by economists and investors, the reforms have sparked a cost-of-living crisis that saw the value of the naira crumble and inflation spike up to 34 percent. Headline inflation cooled to 15.4 percent in July.
A slide into poverty, pre-dating Tinubu, has continued for millions, with more than 60 percent of Nigerians now living below the poverty line, according to the World Bank, up from 40 percent in 2019.