…Asiwaju to announce “place holder” to buy time – Source
Presidential Candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will today announce his running mate as the deadline given by the Independent National Electoral Commission draws to a close.
There were indications within party circles that the party may have settled for a Muslim/Muslim ticket.
Some of those currently in contention are Kano state Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, a kinsman of the president, Alhaji Kabir Ibrahim Masari from Katsina state, former Secretary of the Buhari Support Group (BSG) and ally of the President Muhammadu Buhari from the days of All Nigerian People’s Party (ANPP) and Congress for Progressive Change ( CPC), Dr. Ibrahim Bello Dauda as well as a former Governor of Borno state, Kashim Shettima.
Dauda, a management consultant from Borno State is said to have the support of party chieftains, especially the CPC bloc since the New PDP and the ACN have taken the National Chairman and Presidential ticket respectively.
However, there were insinuations that Tinubu, had quietly submitted his forms, with the inclusion of a ‘place holder’ as running mate in order to beat deadline set by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC),
An insider in the ruling APC disclosed last night in Abuja that the action by Tinubu and the APC was aimed at meeting the statutory requirement and beat the Friday, June 17, 2022 deadline by INEC for presidential candidates to submit names of their deputies to the commission.
But the choice of running mate is yet to be resolved hence the decision to include a “place holder” instead as vice-presidential candidate, while Tinubu and the APC were still making consultations for a suitable deputy that would enhance the party’s victory in 2023.
The controversy over the suitability of the APC running with a Muslim-Muslim ticket or otherwise, has been very intense in the last few days.
“The name of the running mate submitted would be changed for another northern politician in the next few weeks. The one submitted is just holding the ticket in trust for another candidate to be picked by Tinubu and the party in the next few weeks.
“The candidate is still widely consulting, because the issues around the choice of running mate are many and he is yet to address them all. So, he is still asking for more time to look into it all – whether he is running a Muslim-Muslim or a Muslim-Christian ticket.
“He personally thinks there’s a need for more consultation and that’s what he is doing. The debate on the choice of deputy has assumed a level that is currently greater than the party and the candidate, hence the need for comprehensive consultation, which is what he is doing,” a reliable party source hinted last night. – Vanguard, Thisday.
