Nigeria's main opposition party, which this weekend selects its candidate to challenge President Muhammadu Buhari in an election in February, is aiming to make his northwestern power base a main battleground in the contest.
To do so, however, it needs to secure the backing of powerful figures in the northwest and to ensure the party does not fracture over its choice of candidate, analysts said.
Many of the 12 candidates for the People's Democratic Party (PDP) nomination defected from Buhari's ruling All Progressives Congress in recent months.