By For the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the choice of his running mate for the 2023 elections is unarguably his biggest headache at the moment.
It is no longer news that the emergence of Tinubu, a Southern Muslim, as the APC flagbearer had stirred mixed reactions, with strong feelers that the ruling party will consider a Muslim Northerner to balance the ticket and bolster its chances of winning the polls.
However, prominent Christian groups and stakeholders had kicked against move, describing it as an attempt to fuel religious tensions in the country.
Meanwhile, a former APC National Welfare Secretary, Kabir Masari, had been nominated as the vice-presidential candidate, albeit as a ‘placeholder’.
There are reports that the APC is searching for Tinubu’s running mate in the North West or North-East. The names of the governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum and his predecessor, Kashim Shettima have been pencilled down for consideration, according to some reports.
However, on Sunday, the North East APC Stakeholders Coalition asked the party to offer its vice-presidential slot to the North Central to “ensure justice and fairness”.
Abba Suleiman, the group’s National Coordinator, in a statement, knocked stakeholders of the North West APC for demanding to produce Tinubu’s running mate, describing the move as a “gross display of insensitivity to the relevance of other regions in the scheme of things in the party”.
In a related development, National Coalition for Democracy, Peace and Unity (NCDPU), has also warned the APC against a Muslim-Muslim ticket, saying the ruling party would lose the votes of Northern Christians if Tinubu picks a Muslim as his running mate.
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), in a statement, equally cautioned the former Lagos State governor to stop contemplating fielding a Muslim as his running mate.
With 11 days left to the July 15 deadline issued by INEC to political parties to submit the final names of their presidential and vice-presidential candidates, eyes will be on the APC and its flagbearer on their eventual pick.
