A multi-party system was encouraged by the presidential form of government used in the Second Republic of Nigeria (1979–1983). Out of the roughly 52 political parties that participated in the general elections in 1979, which were to inaugurate Nigeria’s second Republic, the Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO), the country’s then electoral body, registered five of them. For the general elections in 1979, there were five political parties officially registered:.
* Alhaji Shehu Shagari is the presidential candidate for the National Party of Nigeria (NPN).
* Chief Obafemi Awolowo is running for president on behalf of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN).
* Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, who is running for president in the Nigeria People’s Party (NPP).
* The Great Nigeria People’s Party (GNPP), whose presidential candidate is Alhaji Ibrahim Waziri.
* Mallam Aminu Kano is running for president in the People’s Redemption Party (PRP).
The five political parties that ran in Nigeria’s general elections in 1979 are listed below.
The Nigeria Advance Party (NAP), led by a lawyer from Lagos named Mr. Tunji Braithwaite, was registered by FEDECO in 1982, bringing the total number of political parties that participated in the 1983 general elections to six.
It should be noted that the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) won both the 1979 and the 1983 elections, which sparked the 1983 General Election Crisis and, subsequently, the military intervention on December 31, 1983.