Details have emerged about how the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu settled for former governor of Borno state, Senator Kashim Shettima as his running mate for the forthcoming presidential election.
Tinubu, after many days of consultations eventually announced Shettima as his running mate, a development which means the APC will fly a Muslim-Muslim ticket in the 2023 presidential election.
Before the official announcement by Tinubu, many individuals have rejected rumours and speculation about the ruling party flying a Muslim-Muslim ticket, with many arguing that it does not allow for equity and fairness.
It was gathered that Tinubu ignored pressures from some North-West governors to pick one of them as his running mate.
Some of the party’s stakeholders in the North-West region were said to have preferred the Kebbi State Governor, Atiku Bagudu and his Kaduna State counterpart, Nasir El-Rufai, but Tinubu wasn’t convinced about the possibility of working with the duo.
It was learnt that Tinubu had initially offered the Vice-Presidential ticket to the Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum. According to internal source, this was one of the reasons for the delay in selecting a running mate as Zulum refused to accept Tinubu’s offer.
Top sources who spoke with the members of the press said Zulum was bent on completing his tenure as the governor of Borno state.
The source added that it was Zulum that opined that the ticket should be given to Shettima.
“Based on wide consultations as well as a survey, Zulum was the most popular option. He was repeatedly offered the ticket but he turned it down for two main reasons. The first was that he was eager to complete his tenure as governor of Borno State and implement his reconstruction programme.
“Secondly, his loyalty to Shettima was also a factor. Zulum was Shettima’s commissioner when he handpicked him as his successor in 2019. They have maintained a cordial relationship which is rare between governors and their predecessors. Zulum finally stated that he would only accept the VP slot if Shettima asked him to take it.
“But it was difficult for Tinubu’s men to ask Shettima to plead with Zulum to take the job when it was obvious that Shettima also wanted the job. With INEC’s deadline fast approaching, Shettima became the sure option. In any case, Shettima’s loyalty to Tinubu has never been in doubt. So, it became easy to settle for him,” the source was quoted as saying.
Earlier last week, the six North-West governors who are members of the All Progressives Congress had met with a view to ensuring that Tinubu picks one of them as a running mate.
Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, was said to have courted Tinubu for the VP slot, but his volatile relationship with the Christian community following his repeated decision for a Muslim-Muslim ticket in Kaduna made his choice unthinkable for Tinubu.
Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, whose name was also consider was said to have been ignored because of the party crisis in his state that had contributed to the popularity of Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).
It was learnt that associates of Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State, who is also the Chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum, had reached out to Tinubu with a view to ensuring that he gets the ticket since he is the only northern Christian governor in the APC.
However, some stakeholders in the party were said to be indifferent about Lalong’s popularity in the North as it seems the calculation only favoured politicians that can appeal to the majority of the Muslim North.
