MAIDUGURI, Nigeria

Eighteen candidates vying for Nigeria's presidency started on Wednesday their nationwide campaigns ahead of next year's general elections.

"Presidential campaigns start on 28th September 2022," Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) revealed in its timetable.

Nigerians will go to polls in February 2023 to elect their new president for a four-year term.

Three leading contenders included Ahmed Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos state and candidate of the governing All Progressive Congress, opposition Peoples Democratic Party's Atiku Abubakar, Former Vice President and Labour Party's candidate Peter Obi.

"Nigerians expect the presidential candidates to be transparent; to open up to electorates who they are. We want them to open up the book; electorates deserve to know more about what is happening in government," Malam Nuhu Tahir, a media consultant and radio manager in northwestern Kano city, told Anadolu Agency.

Ebenezer Arifalo, a retired university professor and traditional ruler of the southwestern Ondo state, said each of the contestants ought to have a clear approach to education, security and economy.