Intrigues and Infightings within the All Progressives Congress, APC, is allegedly affecting the selection of a substantive vice presidential candidate, necessitating the party’s presidential flagbearer, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to choose Kabiru Masari as a placeholder, in order to beat the deadline set by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari had earlier instructed the National Chairman of the party, Abdullahi Adamu, and the leadership of the party, to steer clear and allow Bola Tinubu a free hand to select his running mate, however, the choice of a substantive running mate has proved herculean, given mounting pressure by northern governors under the party’s platform to have him cede the position to one of them.
Tinubu’s challenge in picking a running mate is further compounded due to his having a running battle with the northern governors that worked for his emergence as the presidential candidate, who are insisting that he must honour the mutual agreement to pick one of them as his running mate.
The APC Presidential flag bearer, in a public presentation of the book “Mr Speaker” yesterday, in honour of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, on the occasion of his 60th birthday, stated that he was still searching for a running mate.
It is further alleged that he has narrowed his search for a running mate to the North East and North West. The North West geopolitical zone has six governors and that is the highest in the party.
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The North West geopolitical zone also has the highest number of registered voters in Nigeria. This position gives them the bargaining power, so they are pushing and dictating that one of the governors from the zone must be picked by Bola Tinunu as his presidential running mate.
Tinubu is, therefore, unwilling to gamble with votes from the North West and that is part of the reason why the APC has no substantive vice presidential candidate as at now.
