THURSDAY, 3:30PM:
Nigerian lawyer Tunji Braithwaite has boldly announced he will stand for election as civilian head of state next year. On Wednesday he became the first politician to take seriously the promise of strongman General Sani Achaba to hand over to a civilian government next year.
Braithwaite, former leader of the now-defunct Nigerian Advance Party, was involved in national politics in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but retired and turned to religious activities in 1983 after narrowly failing to win a post as president.
No-one else belonging to any of the five registered political parties has publicly declared his or her candidacy in next year’s election.