THE FRONT RUNNERS

Born December 14, 1942 in Katsina State.
Buhari served as the Federal Commissioner for Petroleum Resources in 1976 during the regime of former military head of state, Olusegun Obasanjo and in December 1983, he emerged as the 7th military head of state after a coup d'état which saw the overthrow of President Shehu Shagari.

In August, 1985, he was overthrown in a military coup led by Gen. Ibrahim Babangida(rtd) and was later to be appointed the Chairman of Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) during the regime of the late military head of state, Gen Sani Abacha. In 2003 and 2007, he contested the presidential elections against former President Olusegun Obasanjo and late President Umaru Yar'Adua respectively on the platform of the All Nigeria Peoples Party(ANPP) but lost out.

At the peak of the crisis that rocked ANPP, Buhari withdrew his membership of the party and went on to form the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) on whose platform he will be contesting the presidential elections tomorrow.

Goodluck Joanthan
Born November 20, 1957 in Otuoke, Bayelsa State.
A graduate of Zoology from the University of Port Harcourt, he joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 1998 and later emerged as the Deputy Governor to former Diepreye Alamieyeseigha in 1999. He later became governor when his boss was impeached over alleged money laundering.

In the 2007 presidential elections, he was the running mate to the late Yar'adua, and he eventually became the Vice President when Yar'Adua emerged victorious. Yar'Adua fell ill in the third year of his tenure and was flown to Saudi Arabia for treatment. After much controversy, Jonathan was made the Acting President and on May5, 2010 Yar'Adua died and Jonathan took over as the President of the country on May 6. He is one of the major contenders that will be contesting the presidential elections tomorrow on the platform of the PDP.

Ibrahim Shekerau
Born November 5, 1955 in Kano
A former teacher and principal, Shekerau left civil service where he had risen to become the permanent secretary of Minsitry of Education and also a chief lecturer . He joined politics and became a contender for the ANPP governorship ticket in 2003 which he won in albeit controversially. He won the 2003 and 2007 governorship elections and became the first governor to get a second term in the history of Kano.

He was later to emerge as the presidential standard bearer of the ANPP for the elections and is a major contender for the position.

Nuhu Ribadu
Born Nov 21, 1960 in Adamawa
A graduate of law from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Ribadu came to limelight when he was appointed as the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) in 2003 by former president Obasanjo. He was later re-appointed in 2007 and was promoted to the position of Assistant Inspector General of Police. However, when the late Yar'Adua emerged, he replaced Ribadu with Mrs Farida Waziri and revoked his promotion describing it as unconstitutional.

In 2008, he was dismissed from the Nigerian police and he left the country. He later returned last year to join the Action Congress of Nigeria (AC N) where he emerged as its standard bearer for the presidential elections. His running mate is Mr Fola Adeola, a former chairman in Guaranty Trust Bank and he is also a major contender.