The 18 presidential candidates for Nigeria’s 2023 election. (Courtesy).

Nigerians will go to the polls on February 25, to elect a new leader as President Muhammadu Buhari’s term runs out after eight years in power.

Eighteen candidates are aiming to succeed him as leader of Africa’s biggest economy.

Former governor of Lagos Bola Tinubu, from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party, and former vice president Atiku Abubakar who hails from the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) are the main presidential contenders.

The other candidates in the race are the Labour Party’s Peter Obi and former defence minister Rabiu Kwankwaso.

According to CNN, the Nigerian poll will be Africa’s largest democratic exercise.

93.4 million eligible voters have registered for Saturday’s polls to determine who gets to be the next president, and who to be in the two chambers of the country’s parliament.

Outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari will step down amid a legacy that has brought “a lot of frustration and anger” to Nigerian voters, according to analysts.

After decades as a political puppet master, Tinubu declares it is now his turn to emerge from the shadows into the presidency; his campaign slogan is “it is my turn,” CNN reports.

Former Kenyan President and African Union observer Uhuru Kenyatta, has told the BBC that he has seen a commitment from the Nigerian government to oversee credible elections.

According to the BBC, there have been widespread reports of vote buying and corruption at polling booths in previous ballots.

There are also rising tensions, with a senatorial candidate from the Labour Party being killed on Wednesday.

Oyibo Chukwu was shot dead and his body burned in the south-eastern Enugu state, the British broadcaster reported.