There are indications that the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, may unveil his running mate on Wednesday.
The PUNCH learnt that Tinubu would conclude consultations with the party’s stakeholders, including governors on Tuesday and would announce his running mate on Wednesday.
It was also learnt that the APC governors and other stakeholders had agreed that the North-East should produce the vice-presidential candidate of the party.
Sunday PUNCH had reported that Tinubu, who emerged the APC presidential candidate at the party’s primary on Wednesday, might settle for a Muslim as his running mate.
According to the report, those who are being tipped for the slot include the Kebbi State Governor, Atiku Bagudu; a former Governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima; the Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje and the Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong.
It was gathered that the North-East might produce the running mate, while the position of the Senate President would go to the South-East and North-West would produce the House of Representatives Speaker.
An associate of Tinubu and Lagos Vice Chairman (Central) of the APC, Hakeem Bamgbala, in an interview with The PUNCH, confirmed that the presidential candidate would unveil his running mate in the next two or three days.
Bamigbala also said the party had not decided on the issue of a Muslim running mate for Tinubu.
He stated, “The issue of this Muslim-Muslim ticket is still speculation till the next two to three days (Wednesday) when the party will unveil Asiwaju’s running mate.
“It is not enough for anybody to just come out to say the APC is fielding a Muslim VP. Nobody has mentioned that. We are still looking at a credible northerner who can be a Christian too to pair with Tinubu,” he said.
But when contacted, the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Felix Morka, stated, “We are not in any kind of time competition with the PDP to make that announcement.
“If the PDP chooses to make their announcement on Tuesday, that does not impose any obligation on the APC or any other party for that matter to make a similar announcement by that date,” he said.
According to him, the process of deciding the candidate is not a unilateral decision.
“Again, the choice of vice president will be made through consultation with the party and relevant stakeholders. Nigerians should be patient as they decide on the candidate and the part of the country he is coming from,” he stated.
The APC publicity secretary also confirmed that there were reconciliatory moves by Tinubu to mend fences with South-East political leaders.
He stated, “I am sure you know that since the convention, the presidential candidate of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has been on the road reaching out to and meeting all the aspirants and co-contestants at the primary. And in doing so, he is rallying them back to the base in readiness for the upcoming campaign,” he said.
Punch