Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) may still be walking a tight rope as to who to choose as his running mate in the forthcoming General Election in 2023.
Tinubu is torn between several options in picking the appropriate candidate most suitable for the position.
One of the options starring the APC presidential candidate in the face in his choice is who to choose that will meet the acceptance of the generality of his party’s hierarchy and caucuses.
Another hard knot to crack in the myriads of options confronting Asiwaju Tinubu is who to choose as a northern Christian to couple him in the race for the presidency that will also be acceptable to the party.
This last option may however be eventually jettisoned by Tinubu who despite his efforts to avoid a Muslim-Muslim ticket, it is becoming difficult for him to find a northern Christian with enough clout in the party to pull enough party influence and be acceptable to the majority of voters in the country.
Information reaching THE STATEPOST confirmed that Asiwaju Ahmed TINUBU may have now thrown aside his search for a northern Christian and will be going for a northern Muslim afterall.
Our source disclosed to THE STATEPOST that Asiwaju Tinubu has now narrowed down his choice of a running mate to Kaduna State governor, Nasir el- Rufai and former Borno State governor, Senator Kashim Shettima.
There has been stiff competition from stakeholders in the North-West where El-Rufai comes from and the North-East, the home base of Shettima, who is a former governor of Borno State. While El-Rufai was a chieftain of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Shettima belonged to the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) faction, two out of the four legacy parties that merged in 2013 to form the APC.
The other two parties were the Action Congress for Nigeria (ACN) and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) led by former Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha. If Tinubu settles for either of the two, it will signal an end to the speculation on whether the APC will field a Muslim-Christian ticket as both El-Rufai and Shettima are Muslims.
Our source said picking the running mate has been a hard choice for Tinubu owing to several vested interests who are jostling for the position. He, however, said Tinubu has narrowed down his choice to Governor El-Rufai and Shetimma as both men are tested politicians who have the capacity to get the much-needed votes for the APC in the North.
According to him, “It is one of the key reasons why Tinubu jetted out of the country to France so as to have a breathing space to weigh the several options before him. “Right now, I think we have made a lot of headway in search for the running mate.
Right now, I can categorically tell you that Asiwaju, after extensive consultation with stakeholders in the party, has pencilled down El-Rufai and Shettima as his choice. ‘Right now, he is stuck between both men and I strongly believe that one of them will emerge as his running mate”.
