With 69 years old Bola Ahmed Tinubu emerging as the presidential candidate for the Nigeria's ruling APC party, all eyes are now set on who will likely be his running mate for the 2023 presidential elections.
Traditionally, the running mate has to come from the Northern part of the country, since Tinubu himself is from Lagos, which is a Southern state. The dilemma, now stands in the presentation of a Muslim-Muslim presidential and vice-presidential candidate, which means for the first time ever, the country is faced with the possibility of being governed by an all Muslim executive arm. The 8 names being thrown around at the moment are the list below:
- Babagana Zulum (Borno)
- Nasir el-Rufai (Kaduna)
- Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa)
- Nasir el-Rufai (Kaduna)
- Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano)
- Samuel Lalong (Plateau)
- Kashim Shettima
- Yakubu Dogara
- Boss Mustapha
Who do you think Tinubu is likely to pick amongst these possibilities or is there someone else you think can fill in the boots of the vice?
The Muslim-Muslim agenda is said to be the response of the Northern establishment to a raging campaign in the North that many prospective voters are threatening to vote against the APC if it fails to pick a Muslim from the North as running mate to Tinubu.
According to them, apart from one or two persons, APC lacks a figure in the mould of Atiku that can rally Christian politicians from the North to guarantee victory for the ruling party.
The source added: The APC is likely to fly a Muslim/Muslim ticket because some influential members of the northern establishment have insisted that they do not want a Christian vice president in the North.
“There’s no Christian who can match Kashim Shettima in the entire North. Dogara can’t win more than Tafawa Balewa Local Governnent Area in Bauchi State. The SGF, Mr Boss Mustapha, is neither Hausa nor Fulani and can’t win in multi-ethnic Adamawa State.
“Lalong is neither Hausa nor Fulani stock, so the majority Hausa Fulani may not accept him. Let’s look at the turn of events, something tells me it will be a Muslim/ Muslim ticket.”
However, some influential members of the northern establishment are said to perceive Lalong “as not being part of them.”
He is seen as a member of the ethnic minorities who are spread across such states as Plateau, Benue, Kogi and Niger. Besides, Lalong, who is the current chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum, is said not to enjoy the support of some camps of other presidential aspirants apart from that of former minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi.
He was accused of dodging other aspirants when they visited his state to lobby delegates to the primary.
Those pushing for el-Rufai to become running mate claimed that it was the key demand of delegates when Tinubu visited Kaduna to lobby them.
In their opinion, it was time for him to accede to the demand in order to keep the governor in Nigeria after his tenure ends in May next year.
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