ABIDJAN - Ivory Coast's former trade minister Jean-Louis Billon said on Friday he would seek the nomination of the opposition PDCI party for the country's 2025 presidential election, challenging party leader and former Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam.

       Billon's decision to run could further divide the PDCI party that ruled Ivory Coast from independence until the late 1990s, but has struggled to regain power due to infighting.

       Thiam recently returned to the world's top cocoa-producing nation and won the PDCI's leadership race.

       His victory fuelled speculation he would run to replace or challenge President Alassane Ouattara. Neither man has formally declared his intentions.

       The PDCI leader has traditionally served as its presidential candidate.

       Billon, 59, was previously chief executive of Ivory Coast's top agro-industrial group SIFCA, and served as trade minister under Ouattara. He called for a PDCI convention to fairly select the party's presidential candidate.

       "I really hope that this convention will be democratic, honest, and transparent, with no tricks or favouritism, no violence, and free from any tribal bias," Billon said in a statement. REUTERS