Ibrahim Babangida, the influential former military ruler of Nigeria, has said he will run for president in national elections that are due next year and set to be hotly contested.

The announcement is likely to sharpen competition over next April’s polls, which should mark the first transfer of power from one civilian ruler to another since Nigeria achieved independence from Britain in 1960. “I will contest the election. Under the banner of the Nigerian people,” said the retired army general in an interview with the FT and Reuters news agency. Mr Babangida, who assumed power in 1985 in a bloodless coup and ruled Africa’s top oil producer for eight years, is one of the country’s most powerful figures and a kingmaker in Nigerian politics. He left office after mass protests followed his annulment of democratic elections in 1993 and handed power to an interim government ousted by a military coup led by General Sani Abacha months later. Mr Babangida’s relationship with President Olusegun Obasanjo, who also ruled Nigeria as an army general in the 1970s, has deteriorated over the years. Gen Babangida was a key backer of Mr Obasanjo when he was released from prison to contest elections in 1999, after the death of Gen Abacha. While Mr Obasanjo failed to win parliamentary support to extend his time in office, the president is seen as eager to push through a candidate of his choice. Political analysts see the arrest of Mr Babangida’s son and a business tycoon close to the general as a warning not to run for office.